Chapter 13 The water overflows, and the moon gains and losses
However, it is Li Jie who has the final say whether Lei Yungong dies or not.
It is true that Lei Yungong was arrogant because of his favor, but whether Lei Yungong died or not was not important. What was important was that nothing happened to the imperial mausoleum.
If something happens to the imperial mausoleum, Ding Wei, who is the envoy of the mountain mausoleum, will also have something happen to him.
Historically, because of the Yongding Mausoleum, Lei Yungong lost his life and Ding Wei also lost his official position.
Protecting Ding Wei was one of Li Jie's goals.
Before the fall of Kou Zhun, Ding Wei and Liu E were allies, but now that Kou Zhun has fallen and there is no common enemy, the relationship between the two is no longer as close as before, and cracks have already occurred.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
Li Jie's purpose in retaining Ding Wei was to check and balance Liu E, slow down Liu E's rise to power, and try to buy himself as much time as possible.
Nowadays, there are roughly three forces in the court, and the number one one is naturally the Queen Mother, who holds the imperial edict and has power over military and state affairs.
The second one is Ding Wei, and the third one is Li Jie.
When two tigers fight, one of them will be injured. Just like when the boss fights with the second child, the third child will most likely win in the end.
Li Jie just let Ding Wei go and fight Liu E slowly to gain more development time.
After all, his current situation is indeed not good, and he is suffering from his age.
"Mao Ze, let others go out first."
In the morning, Li Jie came back from the Baoci Hall to greet Zhang Maoze and waved his hand to Zhang Maoze. He planned to have a good chat with Zhang Maoze.
Although he has not yet determined who Zhang Maoze belongs to, one thing is certain, Zhang Maoze is not a person of the Queen Mother.
This is enough.
"yes."
Although Zhang Maoze felt that the official's order was a bit strange, he was just a servant in the Huang family, so how could he dare to disobey the official's order.
After everyone retreated, Zhang Mao returned to the back hall.
"water."
Hearing this, Zhang Mao quickly went to pour water on the small stove nearby. When about two-thirds of the pot was filled, he was about to stop when he suddenly heard the official's voice.
"Keep pouring!"
Zhang Mao shuddered subconsciously when the words suddenly came close to his ears, causing the water in the pot to spill onto the small stove.
Zhi!
Zhi!
Water droplets fell on the charcoal, making a sizzling sound.
"I have lost my decency..."
Immediately afterwards, Zhang Mao quickly put down the kettle and bowed quickly.
Li Jie waved his hand, then jumped over him and walked to the stove, picked up the small stove, and then continued to add water to the tea cup.
Soon, the water covered the edge of the lamp.
Zhi!
Zhi!
The overflowing water kept falling on the stove, and a large amount of water met the charcoal. There was a sizzling sound in the air, and at the same time, a stream of green smoke rose from the stove.
Seeing this scene, Zhang Mao was very puzzled.
What are the officials doing?
"see it?"
Li Jie turned around and glanced at Zhang Maoze.
"I'm stupid."
Zhang Mao always maintained a bowed posture, bowing his head.
"When the water is full, it overflows; when the moon waxes, it wanes."
Li Jie patted his shoulder lightly, then jumped over him, walked straight to the desk, and continued to copy scriptures for Zhenzong.
‘The water overflows when it is full, and the moon waxes when it waxes?’
Zhang Mao was stunned on the spot, thinking to himself, why did the officials say such things to him?
'What does the official mean?'
After thinking for a long time, Zhang Maoze still couldn't figure it out. After a while, he came to his senses and hurriedly walked to the official's house with small steps.
I can't figure it out, but when I think about it more slowly in the future, it turns out that serving the officials is the most important thing.
After standing still, Zhang Mao glanced at the royal table, and then he was stunned.
What the official wrote today was in large characters, not the small characters used for copying scriptures. What surprised him even more was the few lines the official wrote.
[The red sun rises, its path shines brightly, the river flows out, and the vast ocean plunges... the dragon dives into the abyss, the scales and claws fly, the tiger roars in the valley, and the beasts are terrified...]
Every word is like a bell in the morning and a drum in the evening, constantly beating his heart.
'This this……'
In an instant, Zhang Maoze understood the meaning behind the official words.
The official family is letting him understand the situation clearly. The current official family is like the rising red sun, like the real dragon lurking in the abyss.
"Do you understand now?"
At this time, Li Jie paused suddenly, retracted his pen, and glanced at Zhang Maoze blankly.
"I apologize!"
The next second, Zhang Mao fell to his knees on the ground with a thud.
Today he saw a completely different official family. If you think about it carefully, he has spent three spring and autumn years with the official family.
But it wasn't until today that he got a glimpse of the true face of the official family.
The official family is worthy of the destiny of heaven. The official family has deceived everyone. The usually kind and kind official family is afraid...
Thinking of this, Zhang Maoze did not dare to think further.
Because that's not what he should think about. He just needs to know that the official family is his destiny.
“Where does sin come from?”
Zhang Maoze, who was lying on the ground, gritted his teeth and directly revealed his identity.
"I am a member of Lei Abban. If I conceal my identity, I will be punished by death!"
Although he was mentally prepared, Zhang Maoze still felt horrified when these words were spoken.
After saying this, he collapsed to the ground like soft mud, quietly waiting for the official verdict.
"Get up."
Hearing these words to Zhang Maoze was like listening to holy music.
He's fine!
The bet was won!
He admitted that there was indeed an element of gambling just now, and since the officials deliberately mentioned him, there must be a reason.
If the officials find out something, if he refuses to admit it even to the point of death, wouldn't it be an extra level of guilt?
Rather than hiding the truth, it is better to face it calmly and give it a try.
In fact, what really made Zhang Maoze change his mind was that he saw a different official family today.
Thunder, rain, and dew are all your grace.
He saw the shadow of the hero in the officials.
That's why Zhang Maoze made a bold bet on the future.
The bet was won and everything was smooth sailing.
If he loses, he is willing to admit defeat.
"Tomorrow is the Great Auspicious Day. Lei Yungong should be rushing back from the imperial mausoleum. Then you can find a chance to meet him."
With that said, Li Jie threw out a tips bag.
"Then, you hand over this tip to him."
"If he asks, just tell him directly that I asked you to send it. You tell him that this bag can only be opened when it touches water."
"yes!"
Although Zhang Maoze was full of doubts, growing up in the palace made him understand a truth.
Don't ask what you shouldn't ask.
Sometimes, curiosity can kill people.
It is precisely because of his stability that he was chosen by Lei Yungong.
"Okay, let's go down and clean up over there."
Li Jie waved his hand to signal him to step back, and then he placed the large characters written on the palace lantern.
A piece of Chengxintang paper worth nearly two hundred words was quickly devoured by flames.
(PS: Chengxintang paper was made by Li Yu, the later lord of the Southern Tang Dynasty. It is the best paper among all kinds of paper. There are not many surviving ones. In the early Song Dynasty, there were about 100 pieces of paper in the Jiangnan area. This is the market price, but there is no market for it.)
On the other side, Zhang Mao felt a little distressed when he saw the officials casually burning the piece of paper.
Use one less piece of paper.
Since the death of the Queen in the Southern Tang Dynasty, the craftsmanship of Chengxintang paper has also been lost. Even if some people in the country have imitated it, the imitation is always not as good as the original.
The real Chengxintang paper has a membrane-like skin, is as firm and clean as jade, is thin and smooth, and can be said to be unparalleled.