Rong Xuan

It was already the tenth day of the twelfth lunar month, and it was just in time for the great cold season. Among the many government offices in the court, the busiest one was the Ministry of Rites.

In the evening, Jiao Shilang, the left servant of the Ministry of Rites who came to the Ministry of Punishment to do business, was about to go back to the Ministry of Rites, but he met Sima Xuan who was on duty at the gate of the official office of the Ministry of Punishment after going out.

"Ask the King and Marquis Jin'an." Jiao Shilang was holding a large stack of documents in his arms, and couldn't move his hands to salute for a while, so he had to bow to Sima Xuan again and again, with a rather dignified and haggard expression.

Sima Xuan was standing next to the carriage of Jingling Marquis Mansion at this moment, as if she didn't hear Jiao Shilang's words, she just lowered her head and cared about wearing the winter cloak on her body.

"Master, master." Standing behind Sima Xuan's right side, Liu Sheng gently tugged on Sima Xuan's cloak, reminding her in a low voice that someone came to greet her.

Sima Xuan raised his head and caught sight of Jiao Shilang out of the corner of his eye. Then he turned to the left as if suddenly realizing it, and nodded slightly with him.

Seeing that the waiter Jiao left without saying hello, Sima Xuan cast his gaze back expressionlessly.

The meaning of this look is obvious and straightforward, there are only two words - what's the matter?

Jiao Shilang seemed intimidated by Sima Xuan who always had a cold face.

Although he is an official of the same level as the young man in front of him, he still has the status of a super-grade marquis. One level of official rank can crush people to death, let alone so many ranks.

There is no way, there are a lot of things in the next year, and Shangshu will throw this matter to him, Lao Jiao, so he will have to bite the bullet anyway, but it is good to meet here, so as to save time and then go to him in fear. The Jingling Hou's mansion ran away.

Thinking of this, Jiao Shilang hastily passed the things he was holding in his arms to his attendants who were also carrying a lot of things behind him. During the process of handing over and receiving them, some official documents fell to the ground.

Sima Xuanli was beside him, quietly watching the three of them flustered for a while, and quietly stopped Liu Sheng who wanted to go to help.

After Jiao Shilang stuffed all the things to his subordinates, he turned around and stretched out his sleeves to give Sima Xuan a salute, his tone seemed a little hesitant, even a little fearful, as if he had mustered up his courage before opening his mouth.

"The Ministry of Rites undertakes the annual ceremonies of the Tian family and the clan lords of various sects this year. The account sent by the household department clearly states the expenses to be allocated to your mansion, but the person who received the reconciliation on the book is not the same as that of the Marquis Mansion in recent years. The appointed people are different, and the official was suspicious, but he didn't dare to make a conclusion lightly, so he had to take the liberty of asking the prince personally, wondering whether the prince will follow the usual practice this year, or..."

Or is it really the same as it was written in the booklet handed over by the Ministry of Household Affairs, that Jingling Hou Mansion will belong to the Qingxu Palace this year, and buy new year's goods together with the Palace?Jiao Shilang didn't dare to say these words, he just folded his hands and looked at Sima Xuan earnestly.

The old boy spoke very euphemistically, he didn't dare to mention Qingxu Palace over there directly in front of the Marquis of Jingling, so he had to keep half of what he said.

My mother, Laozi, who doesn't know that Jinglinghou and his father, King Qingxu, are secretly at odds?Celebrating King Xu in front of the Marquis of Jingling, that would be like a long life for the birthday man to hang himself!

Sure enough, the cold-faced Junhou frowned unsurprisingly, and Jiao Shilang's heart skipped a beat.

In addition to wearing jade ornaments, Chao people also had the habit of wearing sabers and swords. Sima Xuan came from a family of military generals.

After listening to Jiao Shilang's words, Sima Xuan seemed to ponder for a moment, raised his left hand slightly, and placed it casually on the handle of the Wuhen waist knife at his waist.

The young prince Wenwen spoke with a hoarse, slightly nasal voice: "The Ministry of Rites has always acted in accordance with the regulations, and the old Lu Shangshu of your Ministry has been praised by the Tai/Zu Wudi and the two heavenly families today, saying that he is an old man. Fair and rigorous, well-founded, thinking about it this way, I think that in Lu Laoshangshu's door, there should be colleagues who abide by the rules and regulations."

Jiao Shilang is an old fritter, he looked happy, and bowed to Sima Xuan again and again: "Your Majesty's words are true, the lower officials are confused, and you are going back to the mansion right now? Then don't dare to bother you. Hou, farewell, farewell."

Sima Xuan didn't make a sound, but nodded slightly in response.

Jiao Shilang led his people and walked briskly towards the official office of the Ministry of Rites—fortunately, the official office of the Ministry of Rites is not far from the official office of the Ministry of Punishment, otherwise it would have been a serious crime.

Having been in the officialdom for so many years, Jiao Shilang is used to being obedient. Now that he has received a hint from Sima Xuan himself, he feels that a heavy burden has been lifted off his shoulders in an instant.

Well, this Marquis of Jingling is not as uncommunicative as the outside rumors say...

After walking far away, one of Jiao Shilang's subordinates accidentally dropped a document from his arms because he was carrying too many things. Jiao Shilang was in a good mood, so he simply bent down and picked up the document. own hands.

Seeing that the cloud that had shrouded Shangguan's brows was gone, the thin man who dropped the paperwork hurriedly flattered Shangguan, saying, "Sima Yuanchu, a soldier of Luzi, just because of his meritorious service, others are willing to respect him a little bit." , He actually thinks that he is the emperor, and he is so conceited! He is even more arrogant than his father!"

It is not a comfortable thing to bow your head to an official of the same level as yourself, not to mention that this official at the same level is quite defiant. Jiao Shilang was originally angry, but after hearing these complaints from his subordinates, he But smiled and shook his head.

"Why is the Shangguan laughing? Could it be that the humble official said something wrong?" The thin man's subordinates exchanged glances with another partner, and looked at Jiao Shilang with a guilty conscience.

"No and no," Jiao Shilang strode forward, the cold wind in the evening gave him a headache, but a big smile appeared on his face: "Just now, the official is standing on the left hand side of Sima Yuanchu." He may not have heard what spoke to him."

As he said that, Jiao Shilang turned his head to look at the two subordinates behind him, and the gloating in his expression could hardly be concealed.

The other little man understood what Shangguan meant, and immediately followed Jiao Shilang's words, and explained to his companion with a smile on his face: "You have just been transferred to the capital not long ago, so you may not know that the Marquis of Jingling is very powerful, but it's a pity that he is bad." one ear,"

The little man pointed to his left ear, and showed his white teeth in a smile: "This ear is just a decoration, it is actually deaf, he can't even hear farts on this side, hahahahaha..."

The thin man's subordinates seemed to be shocked, their mouths were opened so wide that their jaws seemed to drop to their feet, but they still had to respond to their colleagues and laugh with him.

"This is very strange," Jiao Shilang seemed to know something extremely confidential, and walked side by side with the two subordinates in a good mood.

He looked around and saw that there was no one else nearby. He lowered his voice and said, "How long have you been in the Ministry of Rites? There are many secret things in those nobles' high schools, and there will be opportunities for you to know in the future."

"Thank you, Shangguan, for your advice, thank you, Shangguan..." The two subordinates followed Jiao Shilang on both sides, nodding and bowing all the way towards the Ministry of Rites.

……

Naturally, Sima Xuan didn't know what other people were chewing on his tongue in secret, and he didn't even think that a few big men could talk like that when they got together.

She returned from the official office to the Jingling Hou Mansion, and was going to go directly to the study, but was stopped by Xu's mother halfway to the East Flower Hall.

It's the twins waiting for her.

"Have you eaten yet?" Sima Xuan bent down and hugged the little chubby girl Sima Qing who was pounced on him, and turned to ask Mother Xu while walking inside.

Mama Xu shook her head lightly.

"My son greets Daddy." Sima Huan walked over with a decent gait on his short legs, arched a pair of chubby hands to salute Sima Xuan, "I wonder if Daddy's duty today is going well?"

"Pass the meal first," Sima Xuan sat down on the warm couch and told Mother Xu.

Xu's mother took the order to pass the meal, Sima Xuan looked down at Sima Huan who came to her, she blinked, her expression was cold, but her eyebrows and eyes were gentle: "Daddy's duty is smooth, I don't know what Huan'er and sister read at home today Where are the books?"

Sima Huan came over and lay on Sima Xuan's other knee, seriousness written all over his small face, and while he was breaking his fat little finger, he said: "My sister has learned to write "Ode to the Goose", and Huan'er has read it for a while with Mr. "Untitled" by the Northern Territory."

"The "Untitled" from the Northern Territory?" Sima Xuan slightly stretched his legs, hugged Sima Huan to his lap with one hand and sat down, "Does my son remember which "Untitled" it is?"

Sima Huan blinked his big black eyes and thought about it for a moment, imitating the teacher's tone and shaking his head to recite poems for Sima Xuan.

The child's voice is loud and clear, and the universe is stable.

The sweaty horse, the yellow sand, and the hundred battles are honored, and the fire and smoke are waiting for Zhao Jun.

It has always been that the king's business belongs to Chao You, so how can the country be divided with the bandits.

The warm day melts the snow on thousands of trees, and the cold wind blows away the clouds in the sky.

Where Judo barbarians slaughtered and looted, He Jing's family looked at the Northern Army.

A five-year-old child has memorized a seven-character verse, and the mountains and rivers of thousands of miles are calm and vast, without any greed, anger, craving, only innocence, loveliness and innocence.

Sima Xuan blinked slowly, there was no unnecessary expression on his calm face, he just closed his mouth and licked the sharp canine teeth in his mouth, his half-drooped eyelids perfectly covered the strangeness in his pupils.

Mother Xu led someone to spread the food on the small dining table, and gave a blessing to Sima Xuan who was here through the arch of hanging flowers.

"My son's "Untitled" is very good at memorizing." Sima Xuan gently touched the back of Xiao Huan'er's head, put the two little guys on the ground on the ground, stood up and took one in each hand, with a hoarse voice, Slightly nasal: "Let's go, let's eat."

Sima Qing jumped up and down happily, and Xu's mother next to her also bent the corners of her eyes. The wrinkles in the corners of her eyes made her look so benevolent.

"Daddy, I want to eat that." Sima Qing stretched out her arm to reach the corn in the pork ribs, fresh vegetables and sea cucumber stew, but she couldn't reach it, so she pouted and asked Sima Xuan for help.

Mother Xu, who was serving the little master's meal, immediately picked up a small ossuary, and rolled up her sleeves to help Sima Qing fill the corn.

Stopped by Sima Xuan raising his hand, he closed his eyes and signaled to Mother Xu——I can do it myself.

"Father, Madam Xu said, Mother is going to stay at my grandma's house for a while," Sima Huan knew very well the unspoken eating rules of those high-ranking families, but their Sima family was a family of military generals, and they always disdained these small things, so they chewed them. With the food in his mouth, Dudu asked, "Then when will mother come back?"

"Brother, where is my grandma's house?" Sima Qing, who was eating corn kernels, asked additionally.

Sima Xuan was hungry and was munching on steamed buns when the two children suddenly asked him such a choking question.

She drank a few mouthfuls of porridge to suppress the steamed buns in her mouth, first glanced at Xu's mother who was a little frightened, then pursed her lips, lowered her eyes to look at the two children, tsk, her heart felt a little stuffy.

"My outer surname is Xun, and I live in the west of the city. Daddy will be on duty tomorrow to take you there?"

"I have a wife?" Sima Qing blinked her big bright eyes, surprised and excited: "Daddy, brother, Qinger also has a wife?"

"Yes," Sima Xuan motioned to Mama Xu to take care of the two of them for dinner, and picked up his own rice bowl to continue eating: "Qing'er, you have seen Waiwai before."

Sima Qing happily jumped off the stool, waved her small arms and ran around the dining table twice.

Sima Xuan: "..." Didn't the eldest sister say that the two children are very cute and quiet?

At night, Sima Xuan sat alone in the study for a long time, finally couldn't help it, and quietly left Jinglinghou's mansion with a black cloak on.

The night is lonely, and the sky is full of crescent and half-bent long stars. Chang'an City is extremely quiet when it is nearly midnight. Except for the occasional team of brothers from the patrol battalion patrolling the night on Kuan Street with knives and lanterns, there is no one else on the bright side.

Although Xun Run is now the chief minister of the cabinet, he still lives in the old house left by his ancestors.

The house is located in the folk square at the intersection of the west and the south of the city. The winding, dark and cramped alleys almost made Sima Xuan faint in it.

In the end, Xun Mansion was found by jumping on the wall.

When I touched the place where Cao Hui lived, I found that the window of the bedroom was soft yellow - it was the candlelight that was still burning in the room.

Sima Xuan pressed the wound on the palm of his hand that was drawn when he jumped over the wall, and approached the lighted window lightly.

"You're here." Sima Xuan had just landed on the corridor when a gentle voice came from the window: "The door is open, come in."

Cao Hui's room was lit with incense, and as soon as Sima Xuan entered the door, he covered his mouth and nose and sneezed, startling himself in the extremely quiet night.

"Except for Yuyan resting in the ear room, there is no one else here," Cao Hui sat at a four-seater round table, pulled up his sleeves and poured a cup of hot tea for Sima Xuan, with a peaceful and gentle expression: "Come and sit, eat Sip some hot tea to warm you up."

Sima Xuan didn't dare to go directly, searched left and right, took out a beard bed from the wall and put it next to the stove in the middle of the room.

"You——cough...cough cough cough..." Sima Xuan opened his mouth, and the alternating cold and hot air rushed into his throat.

The room was scorching hot, and the heating gradually forced her to retreat from the cold, but her voice was still slightly cold.

She blushed from coughing, cleared her throat, lowered her head slightly, and her voice became hoarse: "How do you know that I cough—" She raised her hand to cover her mouth, and two more coughs came out of her itchy throat. It was barely enough to say the rest of the words: "Ahem...how did you know I was coming?"

"What is supposed to come will come," Cao Hui got up, and came to Sima Xuan with a cup of tea, as gentle and gentle as before: "Let's have a sip of hot tea first, or just press it."

As Cao Hui approached, Sima Xuan got up in a panic, and took a few steps to the side.

Reaching out to take the teacup, even though he lowered his eyes and dared not look directly at the other party, Sima Xuan's hand still trembled slightly: "Thank you."

After finishing speaking, he picked up the teacup and drank tea. The top quality Dongxuanchuan tea was Sima Xuan's favorite on weekdays.

After drinking the hot tea, his hands and feet were warmed up. Sima Xuan pursed his lips, glanced at Cao Hui very quickly, and hesitated to speak.

For some reason, looking at Cao Hui like this, an unreasonable uneasiness lingered in Sima Xuan's heart.

Cao Hui took a few steps back and distanced herself from Sima Xuan in a polite manner. She knew that even though the Marquis of Jingling was what others said, Sima Xuan was always a soft and gentle person.

Sima Yuanchu is such a gentle, calm, careful and patient person, why should he be hurt again and again! ?

"You sit down," Cao Hui made a gesture of invitation, stepped back and sat on a warm stool beside him, holding a cup of hot tea in his hand, and said, "The tea leaves were sent by Mr. Xun. Suixin tea, I don’t usually eat it very often, if you can still eat it, I still have a lot here, you can take it home and eat it slowly?”

"...Okay," Sima Xuan rubbed the edge of the teacup with his fingers uneasily, blinked, and didn't know what to say.

"I know you have always thought carefully, and since you have chosen this path, it must be the best," Cao Hui lowered his head, took a sip of tea, and said softly, "It's just this journey, thank you for your hard work, Yuanchu."

The author has something to say:

Thank you Songhua Brewery and a wooden Ray

Yes, Sima Xuanxuan is deaf in his left ear