In the elegant courtyard by the West Lake, there are scattered peanut trees and flocks of orioles flying around.

It was still dark, but the candles in the attic stayed on all night long, glowing with a little sweet light.

Li Huiniang got up from the cotton couch and saw Jia Sidao who had gotten up at some point and was sitting by the window, staring blankly at the West Lake.

His back was slumped, and his hair was not neatly tied up as usual but scattered there... Li Huiniang discovered for the first time that he had so many gray hairs.

In her eyes, Jia Sidao had always looked young, even youthful, but today she found out that he was already an old man.

Yes, he is forty and seventy years old, almost fifty years old...

A fox fur quilt was draped on Jia Sidao's back.

He didn't look back and sighed, unlike his usual confident self in front of others.

"Why did Alang get up so early?" Li Huiniang held on to the ivory comb and combed Jia Sidao's hair.

"can not fall asleep."

Jia Sidao said dejectedly: "When the late emperor was here, I was too lazy to wake up even for court meetings. Now I can't sleep even if I want to. I'm old."

"Alang is worried?"

"Some people say that I can't save Sheji, but they don't say how to save Sheji. In the end, all they do is start over from scratch...disgusting."

Li Huiniang is just a concubine and doesn't understand this.

She just stood there honestly and responded honestly: "Then this person must be trying to start a new business, so he said that Alang can't save Sheji. Alang should ignore him."

"How can I ignore it? I have to get rid of it, but I don't know how to get rid of it."

Li Huiniang was silent.

He was always like this, always getting rid of this and that, and he didn't know how many enemies he had made.

She no longer dared to persuade him.

"When I first joined the officialdom, I set great aspirations. I knew it would be difficult at that time, but I never imagined that it would be a hundred times, a thousand times, or ten thousand times more difficult along the way."

In this dark night before dawn, Jia Sidao sitting here seems to have not yet put on his shell, and is extremely fragile.

He was talking to himself alone, as if he was missing someone.

"It's always more difficult than expected. They all got timid, ran away, ran away...Zhao Kui, who couldn't get back up after the defeat of Sanjing; Uncle Xie Fang, who talked a lot about the truth but had no actual results, went away in despair, raising cranes to practice Taoism.

; Ding Daquan, who forgot his ambition when he was in Fujian Road when he entered the court; Wu Qian, who was too straight and unwilling to endure for the country, he refused; Cheng Yuanfeng, who was too weak and not straight enough; Ye Mengding, who was old and slow.

…

They all said they wanted to save the Song Dynasty and the Song Dynasty, but they all still wanted to cherish their feathers, thinking that I didn't know what they were thinking. When the country was destroyed, they would have been buried long ago, so what did it have to do with them? They would only shout, "

Jia Sidao, if you can't do it, they can't do it. They will only drag me down with gossip. Twenty years have been spent on such cowardly people.

Only...only Li Xia doesn't have the pedantry of these people. He is tenacious, not timid, and does not run away. He is similar to me. He maintains his will and never changes his mind because of what others say. However, he walks away as soon as he starts.

Wrong. Sheji is like a serious disease. No matter whether it is a symptom or a root cause, the thugs actually rise up with knives and want to cut off the arms of Sheji in an attempt to survive with their arms. How dare they cause such a disaster with a strong captive at their side."

Jia Sidao even cursed until he lost his strength.

What he is talking about is loneliness.

It's extremely cold at high places.

Pingzhang was involved in military and national affairs, and finally got the power he had dreamed of to control the court.

Those who had the same ambition as him were kicked away by him, and all civil and military officials in the dynasty were trampled under his feet.

No one is worthy of standing beside him.

Even what is in my heart can only be said to the concubine who does not understand.

He is also tired, and he also wants to give up, stop doing anything, and live happily until the country is destroyed. It is just surrender or taking poison. Wouldn't it be easy?

…

Mao Shi.

Privy Council.

Jia Pingzhanggong was sitting in the lobby, his expression still confident and high-spirited.

Under the official hat, the hair at the temples is combed meticulously, and it is black and shiny...

"Let's discuss it."

"Mr. Ping Zhang, I am thanking Uncle Fang for coming from Jiangxi to offer auspicious blessings to the officials. I am afraid that he wants to hear the news and understand the situation, so as to become the Prime Minister again."

When Jia Sidao heard this, he raised the corner of his mouth and smiled.

These people are still fighting for power and have not escaped. They are not waiting for the Song Dynasty to fall. They are just not as good as Jia Sidao in their methods.

If Li Xia's contempt for the power of the governor made Jia Sidao feel lonely and frustrated. From Uncle Xie Fang, he once again felt the taste of power.

No one knows how many people are keen on his position.

"What auspiciousness did you offer?"

"One harp, one crane, one golden elixir."

Jia Sidao held up the teacup, glanced at the group of officials, and said, "What do you think?"

"To seduce the Lord, it is because of the good appearance."

"Purchasing incense on the pretext of buying incense, being good at buying gold utensils, and playing with elixirs to help people live longer, but they have lost the dignity of a minister."

"Having harmed the country and ruining the people, doing business privately, violating laws and regulations without permission, should be severely punished..."

Jia Sidao nodded and said, "Let's do it."

"Pingzhang Gong, Cheng Yuanfeng has recently resigned as prime minister and returned to his hometown. May I ask if he is really allowed to serve as a Shaobao, a bachelor of Guanwen Palace, a Guanshi of Liquan, etc.?"

Jia Sidao pondered for a moment.

This matter has been decided, and it is a question of how much dignity will be left for Cheng Yuanfeng after he returns home.

They only had political disagreements with each other, not a deep personal grudge. Cheng Yuanfeng was not as graceless as Wu Qian, who barked after the party was defeated. He didn't want to go too far.

But, I have to give Li Xia an explanation...

"Dismiss him as Shaobao and accept the post of Grand Scholar of Guanwen Palace." Jia Sidao closed his eyes and spoke coldly.

When I opened my eyes again, I was filled with pride and disdain.

"If it weren't for Cheng Yuanfeng's unwillingness to spend military pay, I would have transferred Lu Wende to Sichuan six months ago. Because of this waste, the situation in Sichuan and Sichuan is like this."

"That's it. Li Ni's disaster was caused by Cheng Yuanfeng."

After all, we still have to deal with Li Xia's matter, and we can't avoid it.

Liao Yingzhong took a step forward and reminded: "Ping Zhanggong, Jiang Chun has submitted another memorial, asking the court for a reward for Li Xia's contribution to pacifying Dali."

Jia Sidao sneered, waved his hand and said: "Summon him to see me, you all go down..."

Jiang Chun walked through the Royal Street with his head raised and entered the Privy Council, attracting the attention of countless officials along the way.

Recently, some people in the court praised him as a hero for his outspokenness, while others scolded him for condoning the troubles of the feudal town.

never mind.

After experiencing these things, he had already figured out clearly that whether Li Xia wanted to stand on his own feet or not, he would have been tied to death on this ship.

Li Xiuruo stood up on his own, and from the day he practiced river patrol in Qingfu County, he, the county magistrate, had been shielding and conniving.

At that time, Jiang Chun was the first person to be punished for the crime of treason.

What saves his life now is Li Xia's strength enough to stand on his own feet...

However, Jiang Chun still felt a little timid when he walked into the lobby and looked at Jia Sidao who was sitting in the chair.

Although Li Xia had made it very clear in his letter, Jiang Chun really did not have the confidence to confront Jia Sidao face to face. After all, Jia Sidao was different from those officials in the Procuratorate.

It was only at the end of the year that I was easily deceived by Cheng Yuanfeng with a few words.

Deal with it carefully.

"I've met Mr. Ping Zhang."

Jia Sidao didn't respond and looked at Jiang Chun coldly.

Jiang Chun was stared at with horror. He suppressed his emotion and said, "I wonder what matter Pingzhang Gong summoned me to inquire about?"

"Talk about your memorial."

"Yes, Jinma Qian..."

"Ma Qian has been killed by Li Xia."

"But the crime has not been determined." Jiang Chun also wanted to show his tough demeanor, and said: "Without fighting, the following committed chaos, this is a major crime of treason! However, the crime has not been determined, and there are a lot of discussions in the court, and even false accusations against Li Jieshuai..."

"Don't do this with me. It's just you and me here. If you have anything to say, you can just say it."

Only then did Jiang Chun find the feeling of speaking confidently and confidently. He was about to continue talking when he was interrupted by Jia Sidao and was stunned for a moment.

Jia Sidao actually smiled, pointed to the chair on the side and ordered: "Sit down."
To be continued...