Zhan Mian held an umbrella and walked quickly for a few steps and caught up with the old lady again.
To impeach Chang Jie, Zhan Mian could only shake his head in his heart - it was something that the civil and military officials of the entire dynasty couldn't do. How could Zhan Mian be a hero who only feared that the world would not be in chaos?
Zhan Mian suppressed the list of embarrassing business matters and stopped mentioning them. He turned to the old lady and asked: "Teacher's seventieth birthday this year... I don't know how to organize it?"
Taifu Chu said softly: "What's the point of having a birthday at such a critical moment?"
"The birthday banquet is not going to be held?" Zhan Mian looked surprised: "Then..."
The seventieth birthday has a different meaning from ordinary birthdays. Officials in Dasheng reached their official posts at the age of seventy, but teachers have long wanted to retire. In recent years, they have been working extremely hard, almost surviving with scoldings.
Zhan Mian originally thought that the teacher would probably host the birthday banquet in a lively manner, and then naturally propose to the court to become an official. If he acted quickly enough, he might be able to have a carefree and comfortable New Year.
Taifu Chu said: "If I retreat now, I'm afraid that the prince's son will throw himself in front of my house and cry all day long."
"..." Zhan Mian felt that this was not impossible. After all, the current situation in the court was really difficult. Not to mention the prince, he often wanted to cry.
Wei Shuyi asked himself to go north to escort the bones of Shuofang Jiedu Envoy back to the pass, while Cui Hao, another prince of Menxia Province... It is said that the prince thoroughly investigated the case of Shuofang Jiedu Envoy and had already found Cui Hao and the Cui family...
After many times of waiting and weighing, the empress finally decided to take action against the Cui family.
Under such a decision, at the end of the year, the court will once again face a violent shock.
And what the consequences will be, many people cannot predict and estimate.
Zhan Mian also wanted to use the prince's words to advise the saint to think twice before acting, but the saint's will was already decided.
Obviously, in the eyes of the saint, the turmoil caused by completely uprooting the Cui family from the court was more intolerable than the hidden dangers of allowing the Cui family to stay in the court and be used by others.
Zhan Mian couldn't help but think of the death of Lingnan and Shuofang Jiedu...
To this day, every move of the sage is already a risky move, only for the sake of winning or losing, and does not care about weighing the gains and losses.
The wind and rain blew against the umbrella, and a wisp of cold rain fell slantingly between Zhan Mian's brows. Thinking of the difficult and dangerous situation ahead, he raised his eyes and looked upward, only to feel that the dark clouds were getting denser and colder.
At this moment, the only consolation in his heart was probably that the teacher was still by his side. He couldn't help but feel a bit grateful and said: "Teacher, you really care about the overall situation, and you can't bear to see the students supporting it alone..."
The teacher has been through several dynasties, and he is like a clear mountain stream undisturbed by chaos. He is also the backbone in the eyes of many officials like him. The teacher is still there, and they can still listen to the teacher criticizing others, and they can feel relatively at peace in their hearts.
"The overall situation..." Mrs. Chu muttered these two words again and said casually: "Everyone talks about the overall situation, but the overall situation in everyone's mind is not the same thing at all."
Zhan Mian was silent for a moment, and wanted to ask the teacher what the overall situation was in his mind.
"At this age, I don't have many days left to live." Before Zhan Mian could ask, Master Chu said directly: "While I can still stand, I will stand in this game for a while longer."
Zhan Mian seemed to understand: "Teacher is here for the people of the world..."
Master Chu was noncommittal: "That's right."
For the sake of being recognized by the world in the eyes of an unlucky student, that's all.
It turns out that the unfortunate guy also wanted him to leave. He was so busy that he actually wrote him three letters...
Thinking of those letters, Master Chu snorted in his heart, and he didn't bother to listen.
Historically, only teachers have taken care of their students. How can students take care of their teachers? If students are not obedient, why should teachers be obedient?
Besides, what kind of teacher can you be if you only want to be idle?
Although he is old, he is still of some use and can still support him for a while.
He didn't retreat, so he stood here, waiting for his student to come, so that he could hand everything over to her as safely as possible, so that she could save some effort and save her from getting tired at such a young age.
Zhan Mian sighed a few words to himself. Seeing the teacher's official sedan in front of him, he asked again: "Teacher, are you really not holding a birthday party?"
Mr. Chu: "That's too long."
"There is nothing wrong with not having a big event, but it is still necessary to have a small one..." Zhan Mian said with a respectful smile: "Seventy is your birthday, and the student specially found a calligraphy and painting for you to celebrate your birthday."
Taifu Chu waved his hand: "Sell it as soon as possible and buy more charcoal for the house. I heard it is a cold winter this year... I have no shortage of calligraphy and painting to enjoy."
Zhan Mian was helpless, but he also knew that he could not defeat the teacher.
It's a cold winter this year, and what the teacher said is true. It's just the beginning of the winter solstice, and it's already freezing in the capital.
Zhan Mian personally opened the curtain of the teacher's sedan chair and said, "You must take care of yourself..."
Taifu Chu bent over the sedan chair and said, "My fox fur cloak is keeping me warm."
Zhan Mian: "This gray fox fur is quite rare... I've never seen you wear it before."
"Newly acquired." Taifu Chu got on the sedan chair, sat down at leisure, and straightened his cloak: "An early birthday gift from a student."
Zhan Mian, who was bending down to hold the sedan curtain, was stunned: "...Didn't you just say you wouldn't accept birthday gifts from students?"
Mrs. Chu said confidently: "She is very rich now. If you don't take it, it will be for nothing."
As he said this, he raised his hand to signal for the sedan to be lifted up.
Zhan Mian could only lower the curtain of the sedan chair, salute and watch the teacher's sedan leave, with a somewhat puzzled look in his eyes - how could he not know which of the teacher's students was "very rich"?
In the sedan chair, the old man's old and slender fingers brushed away some rainwater on his fox fur cloak, his movements full of care.
After a moment, that hand opened the sedan curtain on the side and looked into the wind and rain.
The wind and rain were wet and cold, blowing into the old man's eyes, leaving a moist smile.
The sky and earth slowly darkened in the rain.
Prince Li Zhi returned to the East Palace, and the attendants who followed him put away their umbrellas outside the palace.
On the way back, the wind picked up, and most of Li Zhi's cloak was blown wet, and he was not in a good mood.
When he entered the hall, Li Zhi vaguely heard relaxed chatter and laughter coming from the inner hall.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! The hall was lit with lamps, and the lights gave off warmth, accompanied by those talking and laughing, which seemed to suddenly dispel the wind and rain outside the hall.
As Li Zhi entered, the talking stopped, followed by a burst of rustling movement.
That was the sound of Wei Miaoqing getting up from the imperial concubine's couch. She was eating candied fruit and listening to Gong'e reading a script. When she heard something interesting, she suddenly heard that the prince was back, so she put down the candied fruit and stood up.
But Wei Miaoqing's movements were not hurried at all. When he saluted the prince, the smile on his face had not completely dissipated.
"Your Highness, come and warm yourself by the fire." After she saluted, she greeted Li Zhi, who always looked embarrassed, and said to Gong E: "Bring your Highness your medicine."
After this arrangement, Wei Miaoqing was extremely satisfied with herself. Her current role as the Crown Princess was simply too orderly. She even began to feel that she had the talent to be the Crown Princess.
Gong E took off Li Zhi's cloak. As soon as Li Zhi sat down, Wei Miaoqing sat back and asked Gong E to continue reading the storybook.
After finishing reading the storybook, Li Zhi felt warm from the heat.
After drinking the medicine and eating dinner, Li Zhi should have gone to the study to handle government affairs, but he sat there holding a teacup and made no move.
Wei Miaoqing asked: "Does Your Highness have no official duties today?"
Li Zhi lowered his eyes: "Yes."
Wei Miaoqing understood, oh, I want to delay it.
Seeing the prince's frown, Wei Miaoqing didn't ask any questions and just sat and drank tea.
Unexpectedly, Li Zhi, who has always been taciturn, actually took the initiative and said: "Today, a minister reminded me privately that Chang Jie also had a counter-intention..."
Wei Miaoqing was stunned when he heard this. He didn't expect him to say this suddenly.
"But he told me that Chang Jiushi cannot be tampered with at this juncture..." Li Zhi's voice was low and somewhat mute: "Even they said this, obviously there is nothing they can do, what can I do..."
"What I, the prince, do is really useless." Li Zhi's voice became lower and lower, and his head also lowered: "I can't do anything well..."
"That's not true." Wei Miaoqing held the tea cup and said, "Your Highness does one thing very well."
Li Zhi turned his head subconsciously and tried to ask: "Which thing?"
"Survival is a matter of life." Wei Miaoqing said seriously: "Think about it, you are tired and scared all day long, and you are sick again and again. There are bound to be many people who are unfavorable to you or want to take advantage of you. In such a difficult situation, you can
You still survived – isn’t that amazing?”
Li Zhi opened his mouth in shock: "..."
Is this really an advantage?
Wei Miaoqing's eyes didn't look like they were lying at all.
This is Wei Miaoqing's true words - as early as three years ago when they got engaged, she thought that the prince would not live long, but who knew that he had grown taller than her all the way to this day... In terms of survival,
He is simply extremely talented!
"Let's talk about Chang Jieshi..." Wei Miaoqing said: "Although I don't understand anything else, I know that Chang Jieshi is a very good person."
Li Zhi's voice was low: "But good people can also rebel..."
"But good people will not kill innocent people indiscriminately when they rebel." Wei Miaoqing vowed: "You are so good at staying alive, what do you have to be afraid of?"
Li Zhi felt mixed after hearing this.
He thought he didn't have much brains and often couldn't understand the hidden meanings in the words of saints and ministers. But now, listening to Wei Miaoqing's words, he felt that he was quite scheming...
But for some reason, these ridiculously simple words actually made him feel at ease.
When Chang Suining was mentioned, Wei Miaoqing became interested. She turned around in her chair, faced Li Zhi, and said, "The reason why you are afraid is because you don't understand Chang Suining. I'll talk to you about her recovery!"
Li Zhi nodded awkwardly.
Wei Miaoqing talked endlessly about several cups of tea, focusing on Chang Sui Ning's prayers to heaven for the disaster-stricken people in Xingyang: "... Mrs. Chang's sincerity moved God to stop the rain! How can a person who has been approved by God harm the common people?
Woolen cloth?"
She looked confident that "Mrs. Chang is carefully chosen by God", but a wry smile escaped from the corner of Li Zhi's mouth.
With this said, Chang Jieshi does not seem to be a person who brings harm to the common people. He even feels that Chang Jieshi is destined by fate...
"So, don't be afraid!" Wei Miaoqing felt thirsty and picked up the tea cup again, saying: "If you ask me, just do what you should do, the rest will be taken care of by the ministers and the saints.
Now, does this court really rely on you, Your Highness, to succeed alone?"
The prince felt strangely relaxed.
Wei Miaoqing, on the other hand, put down the tea cup with a hint of worry in her tone: "Let's just say my brother...isn't he running for the court?"
"Prime Minister Wei is righteous..." Li Zhi felt a little ashamed and worried when he mentioned Wei Shuyi: "I hope everything goes well for Prime Minister Wei on his trip north."
"I burn incense and pray for my brother every day."
Li Zhi asked in a daze: "Is burning incense really useful?"
"I don't know, let's just burn it." Wei Miaoqing was a little tired, leaning one elbow on the armrest of the chair and holding her chin up as she spoke.
She didn't know if burning incense was useful, but A-Niang had someone reply to her letter a few days ago. A-Niang whispered in the letter that she had asked Mrs. Chang to take care of her brother in private.
Wei Miaoqing couldn't quite understand how her mother would think of asking Mrs. Chang to take care of her brother. Mrs. Chang was in Luoyang.
But then I thought about it, a powerful person must be powerful in all aspects. If Mrs. Chang can really help my brother, I might be able to take the opportunity to repay the kindness with my body... Isn't it a blessing in disguise?
When Wei Miaoqing thought of this, she felt a little excited in her heart, and her brows became brighter. The fingers on her chin suppressed the corners of her mouth that couldn't help but want to curl up.
When Li Zhi saw this scene, his heart beat a few times inexplicably.
Just as he was about to turn his head, Wei Miaoqing suddenly looked up at him and asked, "By the way, Your Highness, I saw that the plum trees in the Imperial Garden are about to bloom today -"
Li Zhi coughed lightly and asked: "...Want to enjoy plum blossoms?"
He is busy with government affairs and has no time to escape, so I'm afraid it will be difficult to accompany her to watch...
"Yes!" Wei Miaoqing nodded, looking forward to it: "In about ten days, I would like to invite girls from all over the country to come to the palace to enjoy the plum blossoms!"
"..." Li Zhi forced a smile and nodded: "That's fine."
Wei Miaoqing started making preparations with great interest.
It was getting late, and Li Zhi did not dare to delay any longer and went to the study to handle government affairs.
But after he sat down behind the desk, he looked at the secret music in his hand with a struggling and painful expression.
He wants to punish Prime Minister Cui - this is the reason why Li Zhi avoided delaying.
Cui Hao also taught him, and he called him a teacher...but now he was going to attack his teacher.
It was the sage's intention to use the death of Shuofang Jiedushi to punish the Cui family. The officials below "prepared" a lot of evidence for this...
Li Zhi knew that the death of Shuofang Jiedu had nothing to do with the Cui family, but he also knew that the relationship between the Cui family and King Rong was indeed unclear.
In this level of struggle, true or false, right or wrong is no longer important, only the position is important.
Li Zhi was tormented in his heart, but he had to do it.
However, when he thought about the liquidation of the Cui family, many official positions would be vacant, and many new faces would appear in the court. He would have to remember faces and names again... He is not good at recognizing people, and some are face-blind.
Li Zhi almost burst into tears.
As for what kind of chaos the court would be like, he didn't dare to think about it.
The night outside the window was dark and windy and rainy, and the prince felt the same in his heart.
In the early morning of the next day, a letter of dissolution of marriage came out from Anyi Square, causing an uproar in the capital.