He Shen looked at the resignation letter in front of him, his fat face full of dullness.
At this moment, the check-in door was pushed open with a creak, and Wu Shenglan walked in quickly with an excited look on his face.
"Sir, Sun Zhan has agreed to our conditions!"
"accepted?"
He Shen suddenly came back to his senses, a smile appeared on his face: "Okay, just agree."
"Where are the other people?"
"this……"
An embarrassed smile appeared on Wu Shenglan's face: "Master He, they are still a little ignorant of current affairs..."
"It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter."
He Shen didn't seem to care about this, and said with a smile: "You can just send someone to persuade me. If you can talk to someone, it will be treated as one."
"Yes, sir."
Wu Shenglan was still a little embarrassed and couldn't help but said: "Sir, if this hadn't happened so suddenly, we would have been able to pull over more than just these people."
He Shen paused for a moment after hearing this, and nodded in agreement: "Yes... yes... who said this was too sudden?"
"Who knew that Your Majesty could actually make Cai Jing admit defeat and obediently hand in his resignation?"
Even now when he talks about this, he still has a look of emotion on his face and doubts in his eyes.
Wu Shenglan also said with a look of awe: "Yes, sir, this matter is really strange. Not to mention that you are confused, even those of us who have been staying closely in the capital are confused."
"Ever since Cai Jing suffered a big loss in the examination, he has become more honest. At the beginning, he never made any moves, but now it seems that he has been holding it in for a long time."
"Your Majesty hasn't done anything since then. I thought he was deceived by Cai Jing's low profile, but I didn't expect that he hid it deeper than Cai Jing. He just kept quiet and made a big splash, causing Cai Jing to lose everything in one go.
"
Having said this, he was still a little distracted: "How does this look like an emperor who has just been on the throne for a year and has only a weak crown? If you say he is over seventy years old, I will believe him."
"Your Majesty is a man of great judgment, so he cannot be confused with ordinary people." He Shen paused, and in the end he could only come to this conclusion.
"I just don't know how he managed to control Cai Jing?"
Wu Shenglan couldn't help but said: "His Majesty has never taken the initiative to target him these days. In such a silent and silent manner, what was Cai Jing caught with? He ended up in this situation, and he can never turn around again..."
He Shen frowned when he heard this: "That's not necessarily true."
Wu Shenglan looked at him in surprise: "Master He..."
He Shen shook his head: "Cai Jing may not accept his fate so easily."
He pondered for a moment, then raised his head and looked at Wu Shenglan: "Where is he now?"
"Still in the Ministry of Justice." Wu Shenglan hurriedly replied.
"Let's go and see him."
He Shen stood up and strode out of the duty room. Wu Shenglan paused for a moment and hurriedly followed...
When the two came to the Ministry of Punishment, there were already many officials here, and most of them were members of Cai's party.
The expression on He Shen's face has changed from the cheerful one when he first left the civil service to the worried and serious look now: "Where is Mr. Cai?"
As soon as these words came out, the attention of the surrounding officials was suddenly attracted.
Their expressions varied, some were angry, some were timid, and some were somewhat flattering. They came closer and said, "Master He, Master Cai is in the worthless room.
It's just that his old man told us not to disturb him, so the official and others had no choice but to wait outside."
"Thank you sir."
He Shen bowed his hands to him, and then walked quickly to Cai Jing's room.
Wu Shenglan fell behind him, looked into the lobby of the Ministry of Justice for a moment, and then asked an official of the Ministry of Justice: "Aren't you guys back yet?"
"not yet……"
The clerk smiled awkwardly: "The two ministers went out this morning, and they didn't tell the officials what they were going to do..."
Wu Shenglan frowned slightly, nodded, and then followed He Shen.
Almost all of Cai Jing's officials had sad faces, looking at He Shen's back as he walked towards the check-in room. A few of them wanted to say something, but in the end they kept their mouths shut.
He Shen walked up and knocked lightly on the door, but there was no response from inside. Just when he was about to knock again, the door opened with a creak.
"With my lord?"
Cai Jing walked out of the check-in room and was a little surprised when he saw He Shen outside the door: "Why are you here, Mr. He?"
The Cai Party officials who were guarding outside immediately noticed the movement here, and stood up one after another and came over, with concern on their faces.
Seeing Cai Jing's appearance, He Shen frowned slightly: "Is Mr. Cai well?"
"I just heard that Mr. Cai submitted his resignation to His Majesty, and I was extremely shocked."
He held Cai Jing's hand, his face full of sincerity and concern: "When we met this morning, everything was obviously fine. Why did Mr. Cai abandon me and wait for us just after such a short time?"
When Heshen said this, the surrounding Cai Party officials couldn't help but start making noises.
"Why is Master Cai suddenly submitting his resignation?"
"The imperial court cannot live without you, Mr. Cai!"
"Now is the time when we are at risk. If you just leave like this, how will your subordinates and others deal with themselves..."
Cai Jing first glanced at Heshen, with a shadow flashing in his eyes, apparently recalling the scene when the two passed by each other at the door of Shangshu Yamen in the morning.
But at this moment, he did not say much to He Shen. Instead, he turned around and explained to everyone with a smile: "Thank you all for your kindness."
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As soon as Cai Jing opened his mouth, the officials around him gradually became quiet.
He looked around and continued: "I am nearly seventy years old and very old. Recently, I have become even more frail and sick, and have low energy. I also make many mistakes in handling official duties. I may not be able to be driven by the court again."
At this point, he covered his mouth and coughed twice, then shook his head and sighed helplessly: "When you adults reach my age, you may also understand that it is impossible to refuse to accept old age."
When he said this, the officials became even more excited. Some officials in the crowd couldn't help but said: "Master Cai is not too old. He is still in the prime of life before he reaches his seventies. If the spirit of dragon and horse is not there, the government will be in power.
Isn’t it such a pity?”
"Your Excellency, you are a man of great ability, you are smart and capable, why should you make any mistakes?"
"Besides, Mr. Cai is a veteran of three dynasties and is deeply trusted by the late emperor. Now His Majesty only approved the resignation after just one word. This is too cold!"
The voices of Cai Party officials became louder and louder, and in the end they even said things like "Go to the Ziwei Palace to seek justice from His Majesty the Emperor"...
He Shen had been watching this scene with cold eyes and said nothing.
On the contrary, Meng Meng stretched out his hands to signal and stopped the officials' rebellious remarks: "My lords, please don't do this!"
"Your Majesty has just approved my resignation, and you all go to His Majesty to quarrel. How will I deal with this?"
His words added fuel to the fire, making officials excited again.
"Why can't you live with this? You have been wronged, so what's wrong with seeking justice for yourself now..."
However, as soon as he was halfway through his words, Cai Jing stopped him sternly: "Don't say such nonsense again!"
He sternly scolded the people who had made the loudest noise just now, and said loudly: "What is right or wrong, whether you have been wronged or not is not something you can talk about lightly here. Don't talk lightly about your Majesty anymore!"
Although those people were stopped, the expressions on their faces were not very convinced.
Seeing this, Cai Jing shook his head helplessly, turned around and said apologetically to He Shen: "Mr. He Shen is laughing at me, I..."
Having said this, he paused and looked a little confused: "Alas, I don't know what to say..."
At that time, there were officials around who couldn't help but said: "Master He, please comment on this. Is this resignation too unfair to Master Cai?"
Then some officials couldn't help but shout loudly: "That's right, Your Majesty, His Majesty and those in the inner court have gone too far..."
In just a moment, He Shen was already on the stand and became the center of attention of the officials.
Until then, Cai Jing acted sternly and scolded the officials around him who were speaking out: "Stop! Don't be disrespectful to Mr. He!"
Although the words were spoken, they still did not change the way these officials looked at He Shen.
Wu Shenglan opened her mouth to speak, but after looking at He Shen's face, she closed her mouth again.
"Master Cai, these adults also mean what they say, why do you need to be so angry and harsh with them?"
He Shen seemed a little unable to bear it. He first tried to persuade him, and then said with a sad face: "I am also very reluctant to leave Master Cai. As you adults have said, this is the time when the imperial court is in crisis and fatigue. If the imperial court is gone,
Mr. Cai, just like the pillar of heaven tilting to the southeast!"
Cai Jing's face froze, and when he was about to speak, he was blocked by He Shen's next words.
"I wonder what's wrong with Mr. Cai's body?"
He Shen asked with concern: "I happen to know a few famous doctors, so I would like to invite them to come to the capital to give Mr. Cai a good diagnosis!"
"Why don't you take your resignation first and take a few days' rest at home? After your condition gets better, you and I can serve the court together."
Cai Jing's face became even stiffer. Since ancient times, he has never heard of a resignation letter that has been signed by the provincial government and can be retracted.
But when he said this, the attention of the surrounding Cai Party officials shifted from the magnetic field just now to Cai Jing's body.
"Sir Cai, there are old wild ginseng harvested in Liaodong at home, please go back and get it for your lord!"
"Sir, the doctor Wan Mi Zhai is from Xiaguan, so I invite him to come to Beijing to diagnose your illness!"
"The lower official is not talented. I have learned several Qihuang techniques since I was a child. Why don't I first diagnose Mr. Cai..."
Cai Jing coughed a few more times, and a flush suddenly appeared on his face: "It's okay... This is an old problem for me..."
As I talked, my coughing became more and more severe, and I was even out of breath.
The surrounding Cai Party officials were frightened. Someone hurriedly brought tea and handed it to him. After Cai Jing drank a few sips of water, his face looked a little better, but there was a bit of surprise in his eyes.
Come.
He Shen sighed at the side: "It seems that Mr. Cai's body is really unwell..."
He raised his head and looked around at the Cai Party officials: "Everyone, Mr. Cai's body has reached this point. I won't disturb him here."
"Please ask Mr. Cai to return home quickly and take a rest!"
"This..." These people looked at me, and I looked at you, with a bit of hesitation on their faces.
At this moment, an old official suddenly walked out of the crowd. This man looked at Wu Shenglan nonchalantly, then turned around and advised many officials: "I know that all of you are very anxious.
I'm just as anxious as you are."
"But no matter what, Master Cai's health is the most important. Now he needs to take medicine and rest. If we continue to make noise here, it will only make Master Cai's condition more serious!"
These words are indeed reasonable. Officials of Cai Party all know that Cai Jing is old and frail. If something happens to him again, it may be irreversible.
"Master Liu is right."
"Alas~ I'll take my leave now, and I'll visit Mr. Cai's house another day!"
"Master Cai, farewell..."
Cai Jing stood up, put on a smile, and said goodbye to these people one by one, but he only said half of the words before he started coughing uncontrollably.
He Shen and Wu Shenglan finally walked out of the gate of the Ministry of Justice. The former looked at the backs of those officials and sighed suddenly.
"As the saying goes, a friend in need is a friend indeed... How many people are attached to Cai Jing? Now that such a change has happened to him, only so many people have come..."
Wu Shenglan sneered from the side: "Sir, don't look at these people, Mr. Cai, who is older than Mr. Cai, who is shouting happily. As long as the situation on Cai Jing's side worsens, they can still go half way!"
"What these people care about is not Cai Jing at all, but their own glory and wealth that are implicated in Cai Jing."
After finishing speaking, he saw He Shen sighing and nodding repeatedly. Wu Shenglan seemed to realize something.
He hurriedly added: "There are also those two wolf-hearted people, Deng Xunwu and Gao Xun, who disappear when the critical moment comes. They are simply people who follow people's influence and are hypocritical."
"Unlike Xia Guan, I only care about you and adults..."
Just as he was about to say more, He Shen stared back.
"Okay, don't talk nonsense anymore, let's go quickly."
Wu Shenglan was stunned and turned around, only to see that He Shen had already thrown away his sleeves and hurried back in the direction of the officials, so he hurriedly followed him...
In the lobby of the Ministry of Justice, almost everyone had left. Even several officials who originally worked here ran out, leaving only the official surnamed Sun who stood up to speak just now.
"Master Cai..."
With tears in his eyes, he helped Cai Jing up and asked sadly: "How did your body... come to such a state?"
Cai Jing glanced at him and sighed quietly: "Zhong Yi, how many years have you been with me?"
Sun Zhan's expression of grief froze slightly, he lowered his head and wiped his tears, then said: "It has been nine years since I replied to you, sir!"
Cai Jing sighed again, nodded and said: "Okay, you can send me back home."