Tranquility

A round of clear full moon hangs in the sky like splashed ink, without a trace of cloud, although it is night, the sky and the earth are clear.

In the bamboo garden of the Lin family, there was a gentle breeze and the rustling of bamboo leaves.

The clear light of the moon sprinkled all over the bluestone ground, making the ground white, as if there was a light veil covering it.

There is only one stone table and two stone benches in the courtyard, all alone.

There are pots and cups on the table, making it even more lonely.

Lin Qingyu was dressed in light green casual clothes, with his arms propped on the stone table, and the wine glass in his hand, turning it gently.

Shaking off her burdens, Tangning was free of worries. On this clearest night, accompanied by the breeze, she came here lightly, admiring the quiet beauty of the night.

Seeing Lin Qingyu drinking alone against the moon in the courtyard, he seemed to see the fairy king in the fairy palace.

The blue and white moon hung over Lin Qingyu's head, as if it was only one step away from him.

Between January and one person, it seems that a certain tacit understanding has been reached, exuding the same chill, as if it is the loneliness that has accumulated for thousands of years.

Tangning smiled slightly, took a step forward, and naturally blended into this self-contained world.

"Uncle invited me to drink, but didn't prepare a wine glass for me. Could it be that uncle wants me to blow on the jug?"

Lin Qingyu's face was still cold, he glanced at Tangning who was sitting opposite, and said calmly:

"Wine is something that only you want to drink. Others can't invite you, let alone force you. If you want to drink, you can drink without a wine glass; if you don't want to, it's useless to have a glass."

After hearing this, Tangning showed a playful smile.

He stretched out a finger, and gently inserted it into his bosom. After a while, the little black furry head poked out, and the big black eyes were covered with a layer of mist that had just woken up.

Tangning touched its small head, then tapped lightly on the stone table, unhurriedly, exuding a careless elegance.

Xiao Hei shook the fluff on his body, moved his ears, and jumped onto the stone table to sniff here and there. After a while, he grabbed the edge of the stone table and kicked hard with his little feet a carved magnolia flower on the side of the stone table.

Tangning smiled even wider. She picked up Xiao Hei and reached out to hold the magnolia flower. With a soft sound, a small drawer was pulled out. Inside were three delicate jade wine glasses.

Tangning took out two of them, tapped the wine glasses lightly, and her voice was clear and sweet. Tangning looked at Lin Qingyu with a smile, her eyes full of youthful pride.

Lin Qingyu looked at the pair of live treasures in front of him, his expression remained unchanged, only the coldness in his body seemed to have dissipated a lot.

"You have completed three years of Hanlin, have you thought about the future?"

Tangning was pouring wine for Xiao Hei. The jade glass was small, but it reached Xiao Hei's neck. Xiao Hei was greedy for alcohol, so he grabbed the edge of the wine glass and stretched his neck on tiptoe to lick it without getting tired.

Hearing this, Tangning put down her wine glass and said the answer she had been thinking about for a long time.

"I want to go to the Imperial College."

"Why?" Lin Qingyu was a little surprised.

"When I entered the Imperial Academy, I was half a rank higher than others, and I was too popular. If I went to the sixth department, I would be promoted by half a rank. The half rank of a real power position is not as good as the empty position of the Imperial Academy. Mu Xiuyu Lin, it's not a good thing."

Lin Qingyu looked thoughtfully at Bichi in the distance, and slowly sipped the wine in his glass. After a long time, he put down the empty glass until the glass was exhausted.

"However, if you want to be appointed as a prime minister, you must go through six experiences."

Tangning followed Lin Qingyu's gaze and looked at Bichi with a distant gaze.

In the past, he wanted to climb to the top of power because he wanted to protect his family, but after three years in the officialdom, watching the ups and downs of others, he gradually understood that power is not his own talisman, and sometimes it is even a reminder.

Throughout history, since the establishment of the cabinet system in the previous dynasty, there have been no less than [-] cabinet chiefs and assistants. All of these dozens of people were top figures at the time, but almost none of them ended up well.Not to mention far away, the upright veterans of the three dynasties who were as strong as Yu Ying were defeated by others.

"I don't want to be conferred as Prime Minister, I just want my family to live in peace." Tangning sighed and said quietly.

"It's rare for you to think so clearly at your age."

Lin Qingyu turned his head to look into Tangning's eyes. Seeing that his eyes were clear, it was obvious that he had really thought it through. He wasn't just saying something, nor was he making up such a reason to escape reality because he was worried about the future.

Lin Qingyu turned his eyes away, reached out and poured himself another glass of wine.

Tangning looked closely at Lin Qingyu's expression, and saw that his face was still so cold, neither satisfied nor dissatisfied at all. He couldn't help asking, "Uncle, do you think I don't want to make progress?"

"You are a painter, why do you want to fight for power?"

Tang Ning's heart warmed up when he said a word. He always knew that his deepest wish was to be a painter in the free and easy landscape.Unexpectedly, Lin Qingyu's words would reach his heart. Tangning was both moved and ashamed. He usually saw Lin Qingyu treat him so indifferently. There is always a little alienation in my heart, and I don't discuss with him about anything.Looking at it now, in fact, Lin Qingyu really cared about him, otherwise he wouldn't know him so well.

It's just that wishes are wishes after all, for the sake of his family he had to keep his wishes in his heart, and he couldn't help himself when he entered the officialdom, especially as the emperor was getting older and his health was getting worse, the court was already a little restless .

The eldest prince Fengwei's mother family is the Lin family, which represents Qingliu civil servants, but Lin Qingyu's mind is unclear, and Concubine Degui is just a concubine daughter. I'm afraid that Concubine Degui herself can't tell whether their relationship is good or not.

But Fengwei also has a family of wives, the Gao family with power over the court, and his brother-in-law who is close to the emperor, these two things are enough for Fengwei to gain a firm foothold in the court.Now that he has been on duty for several years, he moves frequently, wins over courtiers overtly and secretly, and stretches his hands longer and longer.Now that the emperor is not in good health, and there are some honorable officials who are restless, Feng Wei has the absolute advantage. , I stick to it myself.

Originally, some cautious people in the court planned to wait and see for a while, but recently it was reported that the eldest princess Gao Jie, who had been in the family for three years, was finally pregnant. This was the emperor's first grandson, and the significance was self-evident.Now, those officials who waited and watched no longer hesitated. Before the child was born, they hurriedly flattered, and when the child was born, it would be too late for them to flatter.

One ebbs and another, the situation on the side of the second prince, Feng Chu, is obviously weaker.He is only a few months younger than the eldest prince, but due to his poor health, he is still unmarried and still studying in Zhan Shifu. Not to mention that he has not meddled in the government affairs. Most importantly, he has no heirs to inherit. This is his biggest flaw.

But behind him is the power of the queen. The queen was born in the old Xungui Dingguo Mansion. Her ancestors were founding fathers. After several generations of marriages, she has an extremely large network of relationships among the nobles. Although the Dingguo Mansion has kept a low profile these years, But the children are very promising, the official position is not obvious but they have real power.

And after all, Feng Chu is a legitimate son, and those decent Qingliu families still support orthodoxy.

Tang Ning was in the officialdom, so he was aware of these situations. Since ancient times, the battle for succession had been fierce, and he didn't want to participate in it. With his level, if he got involved in it, he wouldn't know how to die.

But what gave him a headache was that no one recruited him, which was very bad, because he had been naturally classified into the First Prince's faction by those people.

First, he is Xu Yuan's favorite disciple, and Xu Yuan is Gao Pu's favorite general.Second, he is Lin Qingyu's suspected illegitimate son. No matter what his son is, judging by their identical faces, they are always related by blood, and Lin Qingyu is Feng Wei's uncle.

Based on these, he is the big prince's party.But the problem is that he has an enmity with Concubine Degui, anyone can be the emperor, but he can't be the eldest prince.

Tangning was very bitter in his heart, and the cool night breeze couldn't suppress the heat in his heart.

Lin Qingyu was keenly aware of the change in Tangning's mood. He couldn't help holding down his hand that was about to pour another drink, and glanced at Tangning with eyes that were exactly the same as Tangning's.

At this time, the moon was in the middle of the sky, and the moonlight was extremely bright.

Lin Qingyu was bathed in the moonlight, his body was filled with milky white light, which was clearly reflected in Tangning's eyes.

Lin Qingyu didn't speak, his expression was still cold, but for the first time, Tangning could clearly see the concern and firmness in his eyes, as if he was saying, if you have anything to say, tell me; with me around, you don't have to be afraid of anything.

Tangning felt an unprecedented peace of mind. He had never felt so deeply that the person in front of him was his blood relative, and they were connected by blood.

Tangning breathed a sigh of relief, looked down at Xiao Hei, who was already soundly asleep from drunkenness, picked up its little tail, and put it back in her arms.

"Nowadays the government is not at peace, I don't want to get involved in the battle for the throne, but others think that I support the eldest prince, now I am too."

"That's why you want to go to the Imperial College?"

"That's right, the Guozijian is not involved in government affairs. Although they are all the children of officials and eunuchs, they are inextricably linked with the officialdom, but after all, it is a place for learning, and its status is detached. I can stay out of it."

"If there is no matter about your mother, you can naturally stay out of it, but now you are already deeply involved. You have to choose between the eldest prince and the second prince."

Lin Qingyu paused for a moment, then said in a more emphatic tone: "Zian, we have no way out."

Tangning was stunned for a long while before Fang laughed at herself.

He was so naive, he wanted to keep himself safe without getting involved in the struggle, and he also thought that if the eldest prince failed in seizing the throne, there would be no such good thing if he didn't do his part.

"At this point, I naturally chose the second prince. Considering our identities, will the second prince trust us? After all, in the eyes of outsiders, we are all members of the first prince." Tangning was a little worried. He had been an official for three years , I haven't even met the second prince face to face, and now I'm going up to seek refuge, it's a ghost that the second prince will take care of him.

"You are not from the First Prince. Your teacher is Xu Yuan, and your uncle is me. What does it have to do with the First Prince? You just need to follow us."

Lin Qingyu's tone was rather soft, as if he meant to teach.

"Uncle means that Xu Yuan is not loyal to Gao Shoufu?"

Lin Qingyu looked at Tangning with deep meaning in his eyes, "As a subject, I must be loyal to Dazhao."

The bright moon gradually drifted away, and the chill on Lin Qingyu's body became more and more intense.

Tangning looked at Lin Qingyu's cold eyes, his face that was sharp in the light and shadow, and he caught something in an instant.

Tangning has always been puzzled. A few years ago, Lin Qingyu didn't know the truth about her mother's accident.At that time, his relationship with Concubine Degui was pretty good, after all Concubine Degui was his only family member.But why hasn't he always helped Concubine Degui? He treats the two princes equally, and never gets close to them.

Didn't Lin Qingyu think about it, if the second prince wins the throne, how can there be room for his uncle, the eldest prince? .

Now he understands that sometimes things are completely different if you think about it in a different direction.If the eldest prince came to power, although Lin Qingyu, his own uncle, never helped him, he never harmed him. He was always a blood relative, and without high-ranking officials and rich salary, it was always okay to let his uncle go home to take care of him; in the same way, if the second prince came to power, Lin Qingyu would be his His benefactor, who has never helped the eldest prince, always has a bad reputation if he attacks the teacher, so he just wants to save the teacher's life.

And Lin Qingyu's cold face has been shown to others for decades, and he is in the position of Dali Temple Minister. The label of iron face and selflessness has been deeply branded on him.No matter who is in power in the end, Lin Qingyu has enough reasons to be forgiven. It is a character factor that he does not help each other, and he has no selfishness.

Thinking of this, Tangning couldn't help wondering if Lin Qingyu made himself look so cold on purpose.

Tangning took a deep look at Lin Qingyu again, seeing his natural aloofness, shook her head, and stopped being obsessed with it. No matter what, he was finally able to understand Lin Qingyu's thoughts.

It has to be said that although Lin Qingyu has a deep mind, the reason why he has been able to stand in the court is not only because of his extraordinary tactics, but also because he can always maintain his heart of not being greedy.

If he's even a little bit greedy, he can't assert himself, stay neutral.Because it is impossible to get the Sacred Heart by staying neutral, but Lin Qingyu only wants to protect himself, which is enough.

Tangning suddenly realized that he still didn't know how to make himself immortal, but he knew that as long as he had greed in his heart, he would die a miserable death.Thinking of this, Tangning immediately drew a bottom line for herself.

It was late at night, and the two of them were lost in their own thoughts, speechless for a long time.

After an unknown amount of time, the jug ran out of wine, and Lin Qingyu put down the empty jug, "I'll check the position of the Imperial College. Besides, I'm short of an assistant in Zhan Shi's mansion, so you can come over and take over."

In the previous dynasty, the Zhan Shifu was the institution in charge of the prince's affairs, but in the generation of the first emperor, since there had been no prince for decades, the Zhan Shifu either became a void or was responsible for all the princes.The officials of Zhan Shifu chose the former out of their wits. Although they all chose the latter on the surface, they are not responsible for all princes, and only they know it in their hearts.

Therefore, when Tang Ning heard what Li Qingyu said, she faintly guessed his thoughts in her heart, and immediately nodded and said, "Everything is according to uncle's arrangement. When Hongyu came back from his travels, Mr. Shui was going back to Beijing to report on his duties, and the husband came back with him, and it happened that the elder brother's family was also there."

Tangning paused for a moment, then glanced at Lin Qingyu's seemingly empty sleeves, and said with a bit of worry in his eyes, "They want to visit my uncle's house tomorrow morning, so I just asked Uncle Lu to show him. It's getting thinner..."

"No, it's neither official business nor relatives, you think anyone can come to my house, you go and rest."

Lin Qingyu flicked his sleeves, got up and drifted away.

Tangning watched the whiteness dissipate with the night wind, and sighed helplessly.