Xu Shiying, the father of Xu Guangzuo, died early. Therefore, when Dingguo Duke Xu Yongning died, as the eldest grandson of the eldest house, he became the responsible grandson and the funeral director. Not long ago, he helped with the funeral in Xing'an Bo Mansion, and now
I have experienced this time myself, so I am naturally very comfortable with it. The servants in the family have filial piety belts tied around their waists, but their expressions cannot be said to be very sad.
A thief who is too old to die is called a thief. The late Dingguo Duke Xu Yongning can be said to be this type. Xu Yongning said that he went crazy and mistakenly destroyed the edict and stayed at home, but there is another reason... After he succeeded in seizing the title,
It was actually Yu who moved his biological grandmother into the ancestral grave to be buried with his grandfather, and moved his aunt's grandmother out, only to be reported by his aunt's mother... He never went to court again in so many years, and the Dingguo Palace ended up in its current situation. And this person
When the old man was still free, he would bang things in the room, or vent his anger on the people around him. He was already hated by everyone in the house, and everyone wanted to stay away. Now that people are dead, it can be said that from top to bottom
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Xu Guangzuo was the mourner, so it was naturally inconvenient to go out to greet him at this time. The person who came to greet him was a concubine from the second room. Although his eyes were red, he followed the person through the door. When he entered, Xu Xun smelled the smell of pepper, and
The tricks he used at Xu Wei's funeral were exactly the same. However, he had tidied things up a bit more tidily at that time, while this one was obviously not even in the mood to cover up.
Wang Shouren was borrowed by the Ministry of Rites from the Ministry of War to assist in funeral arrangements, so he immediately went in to pay homage, while Xu Xun went to change his clothes before going in to pay homage. Although according to etiquette, relatives and friends who came to offer condolences had to be with the mourner.
Cry once, but the rules are the rules. Nowadays, unless they are close relatives, everyone else can just comfort you. There is no need for everyone to hide a handkerchief full of pepper in their sleeves.
After going to the mourning seat and paying homage, offering sacrificial wine, and lighting incense, Xu Xun was just about to say something about the obsequious appearance before presenting it, when Wang Shouren casually read out an obscene article. Although it only had about a hundred words in total, it was still
Upon hearing this, Xu Guangzuo was overjoyed and hurriedly came up to bow and thank him.
"This is all I can do in my haste. I will write the oath later and burn it to Duke Dingguo."
Even though he was borrowed for mourning and was muttering to himself, Wang Shouren would not understand this bit of human sophistication. Seeing that everything in the mourning hall was ready, he and Xu Guangzuo bowed their hands and left the mourning hall, preparing to go to the door.
He went to take care of some matters, and at least he fulfilled his duty as an official sent to attend the funeral. As soon as he saw him leaving, Xu Guangzuo immediately invited Xu Xun to the side hall on the pretext of asking Xu Xun to serve tea.
After sending two young men to guard outside, Xu Guangzuo took Xu Xun and sighed as soon as he sat down and said: "I didn't expect such a sudden change in the family, and it also alerted Xu Shizi to come to express his condolences in person. Now this funeral is together, and for a while,
I can't leave you for a while, and I only contacted three or four people in a hurry about what I discussed with you before."
Xu Guangzuo really had no choice. No matter which family had a funeral these days, the censor would definitely stare at it with wide eyes, especially for a noble family like him.
That would be a big trouble. So, after sighing, he changed into a formal suit.
"On the other hand, Wang Shouren, the head of the Ministry of War, is here with Prince Xu today. Prince Xu might as well put in some effort. His father, Wang Hua, won the top prize at that time and was a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy before him. Moreover, Wang Shouren was young and talented, so he unexpectedly
He failed both subjects and was not admitted to the Imperial Academy. But now Wang Hua has just been promoted to the right minister of the Ministry of Rites, and his connections in the court are very important. Wang Shouren himself was once praised by the cabinet minister Li Ge for his talent and learning. Although he has never entered the Imperial Academy, he has served
The head of the Criminal Department has presided over the Shandong Provincial Examination, and I heard that as a civil servant, he is also proficient in bow and horse."
As a local leader in the capital, Xu Guangzuo's news acumen amazed Xu Xun. More importantly, he already understood that although Wang Shouren has not yet become the master who founded a sect, he is by no means an unknown person. Therefore, for Xu Guangzuo,
As a reminder, he thanked him profusely, and suddenly rolled his eyes and said: "I see that everyone in Duke Dingguo's mansion is fully staffed, and everything has been properly arranged inside and out. Even without this king in charge, the funeral should be able to be done properly.
I went to the Ministry of War to take up my post today, and it just so happened that someone from the Ministry of Rites came to ask this prince to come to the Dingguo Palace to help, which is really strange."
"Well..." Xu Guangzuo hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "The imperial court sent people to attend the funeral, just to give the noble ministers some dignity. However, there is no one in the Ministry of Rites, but they went to the Ministry of War to ask for Wang Shouren. It is really making a fuss out of a molehill.
I heard that he took off his sick leave and went to Shandong to preside over the provincial examination, and then came back to serve as the Military Selection Department of the Ministry of War. It was recommended by Mr. Li Ge. Now his father is in the Ministry of Rites, and he is a loanee from the Ministry of Rites. Maybe some people can't stand him. His former
This is also the reason why I failed in the two subjects. In this way, I went back and wrote a humble letter. As long as it gets into the hands of the cabinet, Mr. Li Ge should know what is going on. I don't think it is possible to keep him as an idler in the Dingguo Palace.
.In this way, I can be considered as selling someone a light and delicate favor."
"It's a good idea to fix the eldest grandson!"
Two people with the same surname looked at each other, and finally smiled at the same time. When Xu Guangzuo sent him out of the side hall, and when Xu Xun resigned and came out, he did not forget to shake his hand and said with a pun: "Even if Ding Changsun has been here for a few years,
Tian Zhi cannot leave home for a while in mourning, but if there is any good candidate in the future, you might as well ask someone to send me a message, and I will try my best."
Xu Guangzuo's eyelids twitched, knowing that the reason why Xu Xun gave this guarantee had something to do with his previous words, he nodded heavily and said: "Okay, Prince Xu, you are really refreshing!"
Coming out of the mourning hall and approaching the gate, Xu Xun saw Wang Shouren pacing back and forth in the yard looking like he had nothing to do. He immediately greeted him: "The king is in charge, this is..."
When Wang Shouren turned around and saw that Xu Xun had come out, he immediately smiled wryly and spread his hands: "The Dingguo Duke's Mansion is not short of people and not enough people. This door has people who greet guests, record books, and assign things."
Okay, everyone is doing their own duties, so why do you need me to intervene? The Ministry of Rites doesn't send anyone, and Duke Ding's funeral can be taken care of, so why do you need to borrow me? That's all, it's done as it comes.
An Zhi, I heard that Duke Ding’s mansion still has some military notes left by King Zhongshan. Since Prince Xu is familiar with Ding’s grandson, can you tell me about them?”
"It's a simple matter. However, there are so many distinguished people in the capital. If this continues, won't Wang Zhizong really be called an expert in funeral management tomorrow?" Xu Xun continued the conversation and saw Wang Shouren's face slightly changed.
He suddenly smiled to himself, but without much intention of complaining, he raised his hand and asked the head of the Military Selection Department of the Ministry of War to come aside to speak. Seeing that there were no servants from Duke Dingguo's palace around, he said, "
Dingchangsun also mentioned to me just now that the Military Selection Department of the Ministry of War has always been the busiest place. Now that it is near the end of the year, King Lao is here to help with funeral arrangements, which is really overkill. Dingchangsun said that he will send me the memorial later.
, when a few pavilion elders see it, they will definitely deal with it."
Wang Shouren is now in his prime years, and he still has the energy of a newborn calf who is not afraid of tigers. He has no friendship with the Xu family of Dingguo Duke, but even if he is unwilling, he has to obey the orders of his superiors. Who would have thought that Xu Xun would actually serve as Xu Guangzuo?
Got this idea.
For a moment, he didn't know what to say. After a long while, he smiled and cupped his hands and said, "I didn't expect that today, when I meet the crown prince for the first time, he would help me so much!"
"Where." Xu Xun returned the gift with a smile, and said, "I'm afraid it will take three or two days to get the memorial, and I'm afraid the king will have to stay here for another two days. Speaking of which, Sun Zeng, who had just been appointed the eldest son, said that the king would be in charge
I have a lot of research on the art of war. I wonder if I have some free time in the past two days, maybe I can come over and ask for advice?"
If Xu Xun said something else, Wang Shouren would have to think carefully about it, but Xu Xun said that he was here to teach the art of war, and that he would soon be training soldiers in Xiyuan. He was eager to have a chance to practice what he had learned, so he immediately agreed: "I will never ask for advice."
I dare to take it on, and I am willing to discuss it with the prince!"
After receiving this answer, Xu Xun knew that his energy along the way and at Dingguo Palace was not in vain, and he immediately felt relieved: "With the advice from the king, I feel better. After all, I couldn't even talk about it on paper before.
I have never had the opportunity. Today, the person in charge of the Martial Arts Department almost pointed at my nose and said that I was successful. If we train troops in Xiyuan, the bosses of this hospital will not see it, and we don’t know how to organize it behind the scenes.
No! I just held back my words in the Martial Arts Department. If you are really worried, could you ask them to put someone aside to watch, so that you can rest assured?"
Xu Xun smiled bitterly as he spoke. Seeing that Wang Shouren was deep in thought, he said nothing more, shook his head, cupped his hands, and left. As he was about to go out, he suddenly heard a voice calling from behind.
Voice.
"Prince Xu!"
Thank God, it’s finally here!
Wang Shouren, who was catching up, saw Xu Xun turn around. He hesitated for a moment and then asked: "If Prince Xu really has this intention, I will take off the funeral arrangements and go to invite Liu Shangshu to Xiyuan to observe the vanguard of the imperial army."
The young army is training, I wonder what Prince Xu wants?"
I already have my wish, but I don’t dare to ask for your ear!
Xu Xun wished he could just pull out these eight words, but the words had another meaning: "At the end of the year, isn't it the busiest time for the Martial Arts Department? How can Mr. Wang have such free time?"
"I have only been in office for a few months. In addition, the number of officers in the Military Selection Department has always been the largest in the Ministry of War. One less than me is a lot, and one more than me is not much. It is a rare opportunity to train troops. If you miss it, you will regret it for the rest of your life." At this point.
, Wang Shouren paused, and then smiled freely and said, "Furthermore, does the Crown Prince know that just before and after today's morning court, many censors were spreading the news that you instigated the Crown Prince to escape to the Wenhua Palace to give lectures? I
Although you are not talented, my father is in the Ministry of Etiquette and has participated in the Li Ge Literary Society many times. If I go to Xiyuan to keep an eye on you, maybe people will stop calling you a sycophant."
Although Xu Xun had known it for a long time, the meaning of the words when spoken by Wang Shouren was completely different. At that moment, he bowed to the ground almost without thinking, and was about to say a few words of thanks, but was lifted up by a pair of strong arms.
"You are not the only one who has been called a sycophant by the imperial censor. I remember when I was recuperating at home and came back to preside.