Human dimension reduction

Although Xie Zhuo left Xie's house with ease, Xie Shoufu had no intention of letting his grandson starve to death on the street. He ordered his servants to gather up the dowry of Xie Zhuo's mother who died young and hand it over to Xie Zhuo. Xie Zhuo's mother also came from a family The big family has a generous dowry. Although it is not as strong as the support of the entire Xie family, it is still enough for Xie Zhuo to spend the rest of his life without worry.

But compared to what he once had, it is no exaggeration to say that the current Xie Zhuo is down and out.

Wang Yuanzhi got off the car and stood at the door of a small courtyard in Furongli, his eyes swept over the closed door and then fell on the dilapidated dark wall.

Furongli is close to the city gate, and nearby is Mang Mountain. The scenery is quiet, and it was originally a place where aristocratic families lived together, but because it was close to the city gate, when Beiman went south all the way to Weishui River, the whole capital fell into panic. No matter how beautiful the elegant scenery is, how can it resist the iron hooves of Beiman?

The aristocratic families dragged their families and abandoned the garden courtyard built by Wanjin, and fled to the mansions in the inner city one after another. The mansions in the outer city were occupied by a large number of refugees driven by the northern barbarians. They were cut down for heating and cooking, and the rare birds and animals were caught and eaten clean, not to mention the exquisite utensils in the house, all were looted.

Although the northern barbarian army was blocked by the Weishui River at a huge price by Daxia, these aristocratic families did not move back, but only sent servants to drive the refugees, tidy up the houses, and rebuild the gardens.

In Furong, there are no children from aristocratic families chatting and laughing, and it gradually becomes desolate and lonely. However, because this is the land occupied by aristocrats, ordinary people dare not come and settle here. In the huge lot of Furong, there is a strange prosperous and desolate people. Ding Liaoluo scene.

Xie Zhuo's mother came from a family, so there were naturally many land deeds in the dowry. When she got married, Furongli was still a gathering place for wealthy families. This courtyard was originally planned for the wife to bring her children back for vacation, so it was naturally built. It's beautiful and comfortable, but after being shoved by refugees, it's hard to see inside.

Xie Zhuo rummaged through a pile of house deeds, and found that due to changing current events, those houses with good conditions in the past had more or less problems. In comparison, only this house in Furong was left for him to live in. It's in a dilapidated courtyard.

Fortunately, the Xie family was considerate. After the disaster in Furongli, they did not forget to repair the house for the married woman when they repaired the other courtyard of the Xie family. Therefore, although the house is lacking in all furnishings, the residents are still basically unoccupied. questionable.

But from Wang Yuanzhi's point of view, this place is no different from a house with bare walls.

The coachman stepped forward and knocked on the door. After a while, footsteps could be heard inside. The door latch fell, and the door was pulled open with a hoarse creaking sound. Xie Zhuo stood at the door, with his sleeves tied on his shoulders with cloth rope , with long hair tied on the top of his head, was opening the door with one hand, and untied the hem of his waist with the other. The fine strands of hair were stuck to his temples, and there were a few gray spots on his shoulders.

Wang Yuanzhi was stunned for a moment.

The Xie Yinyu he had seen, either with big sleeves fluttering, leaning on the side of the hidden bag to pour wine and watch flowers, or carrying a knife and pen to write down ink and paper, was the most common child of an aristocratic family surrounded by wealth in the eyes of the world.

This kind of gesture of doing things by oneself...not to mention Xie Yinyu, even ordinary gentlemen, it is impossible to do it.

When Xie Zhuo saw that it was him, he didn't show any surprise on his face. He stepped back quite naturally, out of the way, and patted the wrinkled hem of his clothes: "Why did you come here suddenly?"

Wang Yuanzhi went forward according to his intention: "The ware workshop of the Ministry of War has been suspended, and all craftsmen and minor officials have been temporarily detained. I have invited a few senior officials from the Ministry of Punishment to question them. The results will probably come out today. You... ..."

He paused, and originally wanted to ask Xie Zhuo what his plans were, but when he saw Xie Zhuo calmly untie the cloth rope and smooth his sleeves, he couldn't help swallowing the words back, and started talking about other things.

"It's spread throughout the capital that you left Xie's house."

Wang Yuanzhi's voice is very pleasant. As a product of gene selection from generation to generation, he was born with tall legs, long legs, and a handsome face. Coupled with a long-term and good education, his demeanor is impeccable. With a natural and romantic charm, when speaking in such a low voice, there is a kind of power that can move people's hearts.

However, Xie Zhuo didn't even look at him, just nodded to show that he understood.

Seeing his reaction, Wang Yuanzhi felt a little anxious between his brows.

He couldn't tell what was going on with his feeling, it seemed that since Yinyu's accident, they could no longer be as close as before, no matter how much he tried to get close to each other, he would be blocked in a transparent glass fence without a trace Besides, no matter what he does, he can't go back to the previous state.

Maybe his choice was wrong.

I don't know how many times Wang Yuanzhi thought this way, maybe he shouldn't listen to his grandfather's words, maybe he should insist on standing up with Yinyu at that time...

What should he do to redeem this mistake?

As if he could hear people's voices, Xie Zhuo, who was walking in front, suddenly turned around and took a fixed look at Wang Yuan.

"You know I never blamed you." Mr. Saburo of the Xie family thought for a while and said slowly.

"It's very rude to ask others to use your own standards, and a gentleman will not do it. What's more, what I have to do is still a very dangerous thing. It's better to say that after you didn't come to Xie's house again, I relaxed Tone——I'm worried, but it seems that Mr. Wang stopped you, that's good."

But what he said did not make Wang Yuanzhi heave a sigh of relief, on the contrary, it made him feel even more painful.

"But I should come, Yinyu, I should come..."

He whispered gloomyly, and Xie Zhuo interrupted him calmly and forcefully: "No, you just shouldn't come. You have parents and high expectations from your clan, so you shouldn't waste your life in this place. In the future, you can join the court to pay homage to the minister." , that is where you, Wang Fengzi, can spread your wings and fly high."

"but me……"

Xie Zhuo raised his face and thought for a while, the previous serious expression faded a lot, and turned into a slight smile: "Maybe I can be a ladder to the sky, a wind to the clouds, to help you."

When Wang Yuanzhi came back, he was more silent than when he left, but his eyes had lost the melancholy of the previous few days, and became clear and sharp, like a spear and a sharp sword, his whole aura was completely different from before.

Wang Shangshu leaned against the window and looked at a scroll of bamboo slips, he caught a glimpse of Wang Yuanzhi approaching from the corner of his eye, took a closer look, couldn't help but pause, and then sighed softly in his heart.

What was supposed to come still couldn't escape, no matter how hard he tried, Phoenix would still go towards the raging fire after all.

"Father, I've made up my mind."

The young Prince Feng of the Wang family stood in front of the window with a calm but firm tone.

"I am willing to follow your arrangement and take over my uncle's position as Minister of the Ministry of Officials."

Wang Shangshu held the bamboo slips for a while, then slowly put down the bamboo slips, and the bamboo slips made a crisp and pleasant sound.

"Have you figured it out?" The old man looked at his grandson with unprecedented sternness, "After becoming the servant of the official department, I will take over the position of Minister of the Ministry in the future, so that I can enter the cabinet and become the prime minister. During this process, you again It can't be as ridiculous as before, especially—”

He paused for a moment, and then brought up the name that both of them knew by heart: "——you and Xie Zhuo must clearly draw a line of demarcation in front of the world."

Wang Yuanzhi remained expressionless: "I've made up my mind."

The old man continued to ask: "Even if in the future, His Majesty may entrust the execution of Xie Zhuo to you?"

The moment he heard these words, Wang Yuanzhi's jaw tightened suddenly, and he almost exhausted all his strength to restrain himself not to tremble, not to refute, not to imagine that scene, Wang Shangshu didn't urge him, just kept silent like this She looked at him quietly, waiting for his answer.

"I... think it over." Wang Yuanzhi gritted his teeth and replied in a low voice.

When he said these words, something penetrated his flesh and blood, making him feel pain like suffocation.

The old man looked at him, and his voice became softer: "Why did you suddenly figure it out? Before that, you were arguing every day to go to Xie's house. If I hadn't sent someone to watch you, you might have escaped a long time ago. Why? Change now?"

Wang Yuanzhi didn't know what he was thinking, and he said slowly after a long time: "Because... I suddenly thought that if I were Wang Fengzi forever, then Xie Zhuo might really get that execution order; Wang Yuanzhi, who overwhelms the world, then..."

"Then, I might be able to stop this edict. Although the possibility of this is very slim, I have to give it a try."

So he wants to climb up, climb up by whatever means, until he can spread his wings and protect the gust of wind that goes straight to the sky.

Wang Shangshu finally showed a smile. I don't know whether it is gratification or regret, and nodded slowly: "Then you go, and settle the matter of the Ministry of War properly. From now on, you will come forward to receive the guests who come to visit."

Wang Yuanzhi knew that this meant to push him in front of others, so he raised his sleeves and bowed deeply to his grandfather, when he was about to leave, Wang Shangshu suddenly stopped him again.

"Fengzi, do you think us old fellows are particularly useless?"

Daxia's deputy prime minister asked softly: "We all hold great power, but we don't care about the truth of blood and tears. We whitewash the peace every day, and lie high in the room with Daxia's riddled shell. Standing still and doing everything possible to prevent you from pleading for the people, thinking about it this way, it is not only useless, it is simply a crime that deserves to be punished."

Wang Yuanzhi frowned very quickly: "Father's words are too extreme."

"Are you extreme?" Wang Shangshu looked at his grandson for a while, and suddenly smiled. There was something in this smile that could be called cunning and unrestrained, "You think I don't know what you young people think of our old man? Who hasn't?" When you are young?"

Wang Yuanzhi blinked his eyes, and recalled vaguely that when his grandfather was young, he also had a glorious time called Wang Jiabiyu. Back then, Wang Biyu, together with Xie Jiayushu, won the hearts of many young ladies.

But now, those little ladies who threw flowers for the beautiful tree of Biyu have become great grandmothers. People will stop their car and ask Mr. Lang to get out of the car to see him. Zhilan Fenghuang, who is held in the palm of the whole capital city, has become their grandson, as if time has entered reincarnation again.

"Both Xie Yuan and I want to see your children galloping around the capital in sheep carts, and the shouts of Xie Lang and Wang Lang can be passed down from generation to generation, but..."

Wang Shangshu's voice stopped abruptly. He seemed to realize that he had said too many things that shouldn't be said, and fell into a long silence.

The silence was heavy and sad, Wang Yuanzhi did not disturb his contemplation, bowed lightly, and backed away from the flower window. When he finally left, he glanced down and saw the scroll of bamboo slips that had been held by his grandfather before. My mind suddenly moved.

He is very familiar with the words on it. He has seen the same handwriting countless times in literary conferences, on letterheads, on silk, and on bamboo pieces.

Iron painted with silver hooks, handsome and upright.

That is Yinyu's character.

The conversation between the grandparents of the Wang family was no longer known by a third person, and the people in the capital only felt that there had been some new changes. There was an inseparable Wang Yuanzhi next to Wang Shangshu. Get a sit-in.

This kind of implication was enough for everyone to understand what Wang Shangshu meant, so almost overnight, fewer people called him "Wang Fengzi" in small characters, and instead called him by his name solemnly and respectfully, even if he felt dissatisfied with his words When making insinuations, he subconsciously chose the name "Wang Yuanzhi".

When Wang Yuanzhi quietly gained more influence in the court, he and Xie Zhuo never stopped investigating the Ministry of War.

The old officials seconded by the Ministry of Punishment were all experienced in business, and they were very good at clichés. They quickly sorted out dozens of confessions and handed them over to them. Wang and Xie looked at them with a lamp and boiled oil, but they didn't find anything in these confessions. Any place that is not conducive to the Ministry of War.

The household department found similar fake military money totaling [-] yuan from the warehouse. The military department identified them one by one, and firmly refused to admit that it was made by the military department. They dug out all the documents and checked them one by one, but they really couldn't find the money. There is no trace of it, as if this batch of money fell from the sky, it can be called inexplicable.

Wang Yuanzhi sat at the table with a condensed expression: "The Ministry of War could not find any trace of this batch of money, and the records in the workshop have been verified one by one. It is true that there is no spare time to mint this batch of money, so where did this batch of money come from?" Where did it come from?"

The matter has been found here, and it has gone in an unimaginable direction. Where did the extra [-] military money come from?

Xie Zhuo's eyes drooped slightly, and there was no sign of uneasiness on his face. He cut off the core of the oil lamp with scissors, turned on the light, and said softly: "Military money flows through three places. It is cast by the Ministry of War, processed by the army, and finally flows Household Department, since the Ministry of War does not have it here, the problem is either with the army or with the Household Department.”

Army, household department.

Wang Yuanzhi's heart sank.

These two places are related to the lifeline of Great Xia, no matter where there is a problem, it cannot be easily wiped away.

more importantly……

He stared at Xie Zhuo's face without any strangeness, and took a deep breath: "The military department has conducted a thorough investigation and proved that there is no selfish military money. How will you sue the military department in court?"

Xie Zhuo smiled slightly: "Well, don't worry, the boat will be straight when it reaches the bridge."

His smile was very relaxed, so relaxed that Wang Yuanzhi couldn't see any tension on his face, as if everything was under his control.

Wang Yuanzhi couldn't figure out what to do, he could only trust Xie Yinyu almost blindly as before.

So when he heard Xie Zhuo frankly confessed to the crime of false accusation and asked to be exiled in Mobei in the court hall, his eyes went dark, and it was only because of the brothers beside him who held him tightly that he didn't fall down in court.

The tall and handsome figure knelt in the center of the court hall, calmly accepting the eyes of contempt, contempt or ridicule from all parties, under the arrogant and compassionate "pleading" of the Shangshu of the Ministry of War, he finally got the condescension of the emperor's understatement. A "quasi-play".

"Danqing ordered Xie Zhuo to falsely accuse the Ministry of War for no reason, to uphold the law and order of the court, to clear up the rules and regulations, to confiscate his family property, and to exile in Mobei, where he will not be pardoned."

If there is no amnesty, even if there is a chance to amnesty the criminals in the world in the future, it will not benefit Xie Zhuo himself. This is the most ruthless tactic.

Xie Zhuo bent his back deeply, and thanked the emperor, while the Minister of War stood in front of him from the beginning to the end, his position was delicate, and he accepted his kneeling without hesitation, and Xie Shoufu, who heard the verdict, responded Always say nothing.

Wang Yuan's mind roared, he watched the guards outside the hall rush in, removed Xie Zhuo's crown clothes, roughly locked the flail, and dragged him out of the hall.

When they passed each other, he saw Xie Zhuo, whose clothes were disheveled and in a state of embarrassment, suddenly turned his face and smiled softly at him.

Like appeasement, but also like farewell.