dream of red mansion

Chapter 416 Two phases meet
In a not-too-luxurious mansion, a young man respectfully supported an old man, and walked towards the garden at an abnormal speed.

"Master Shoufu is here, I have never greeted you from far away, please forgive me, Mr. Shoufu. Cough cough"

As soon as he stepped into the garden, the old man spoke loudly to another old man sitting in the garden.Although it was a loud voice, it may be because of his old age and weakness, he started coughing right after he finished speaking, which caused the young man to rush to smooth his back.

The old man who was sitting hurriedly stood up after hearing the voice, and walked forward, saying:

"Brother Liu, you've broken my heart. In front of Brother Liu, how can I say 'Master Shoufu'? Brother Liu, are you alright?"

The old man known as Brother Liu shook his head to show that he was okay, and waved his hand to signal the young man on the side to put away his hands, and then said to the old man: "Now I am just a grassroots, and Brother He, you are the chief assistant in charge of the cabinet. So, as it should be, heck."

The old man called Brother He said with a look of remembrance: "I can't do it, no matter what, in front of Brother Liu, I can only be regarded as a latecomer. To tell you the truth, I took the liberty to disturb you today because I was a little confused. I ask Brother Liu for advice."

Brother Liu's eyes flashed brightly, but his face didn't show. He said in his mouth: "What advice do we talk about? It's a rare meeting today. I just got some new tea here. Brother He, would you like to taste it with me?"

"I can't ask for it." Brother He smiled, and then let Brother Liu grab his wrist, leading him to sit down in front of the clean white jade table.

"Hu'er, go and get the tea that the Jia boy brought over the day before yesterday." After the two sat down, Brother Liu said to the young man who had been following him.

The young man's name is Liu Hu, and he is the son of Liu Xiangbai, the current right servant of the Ministry of Rites.The old man he helped over was naturally Liu Yong, the former chief assistant of the cabinet!And the other old man is the current leader of civil servants in the world, He Shanbao, the chief assistant of the cabinet.

"Yes." Liu Hu replied, turned and left.

"Could it be that the kid from the Jia family that brother Liu is talking about is the one from Ningguo Mansion?" After Liu Hu left, He Shanbao asked.

Liu Yong smiled and said: "That's right, you may not know, that kid is very interesting. I asked him for some tea, but he was still unwilling to give it. Finally, under my coercion and temptation, he reluctantly agreed to give me two. Two tea leaves."

He Shanbao said: "Is there anyone who doesn't want to give Brother Liu a gift?" Although it was doubtful, the look in He Shanbao's eyes obviously didn't believe it, he just thought Liu Yong was joking.

"Brother He and I also thought the same way before, but that kid is really different from ordinary people. To be honest with Brother He, even the two taels of tea in my hand were exchanged by me with a calligraphy and painting. His face was sore, I asked him to give him more but he refused, and he said plausibly:
My lord, don't think that I'm being stingy and only give you two taels. The total amount of tea in the world is only four or five taels. Now that I give you two taels, that's almost half of it.If you still want to ask for more, if you get three taels, four taels, isn't that even me, the proprietor, not as much as you?Even if that is the case, it may not make you happy, but I am definitely not happy."

Listening to Liu Yong's imitation of a child's tone of voice, He Shanbao listened with a smile at first, thinking that Liu Yong was joking with him as he did many years ago.After hearing the latter, his expression froze. Liu Yong's words didn't seem like he was joking.

Liu Yong looked at He Shanbao with a serious look on his face with a smile, and didn't say much, and then finished speaking: "So, boy, I can only give you two taels, it really can't be more.

I was so angry that I really wanted to kick him out on the spot!hehe. "

Liu Yong had a smile on his face, but He Shanbao's eyes were burning.Just as he was about to speak, Liu Hu had already come over with a whole set of tea sets, so he had to be patient for the time being, and waited quietly with Liu Yong for Liu Hu to make tea for the two of them.

Looking at Liu Hu, who was standing half-bowed, with elegant demeanor and dignified appearance, who was skillfully making tea for them, He Shanbao suddenly said: "Lingsun is a talented person, with polite manners. How old is he? Have you ever been married now?"

Liu Yong glanced at He Shanbao and said with a smile: "He is nineteen years old this year. Although he is not married, he has already taken a fancy to him. We will take care of this matter for him when he passes the weak crown next year."

He Shanbao looked at Liu Hu regretfully, and said, "So, let's congratulate Brother Liu on getting the fourth grandson soon."

"Hahaha, thank you Brother He, but I don't know if my old bones can last until then." Liu Yong smiled brilliantly.

"Where, looking at Brother Liu's body, I can definitely see the great-great-grandson coming to the world. Why do you say that, but I don't know when I will be able to play with my grandson like Brother Liu."

As He Shanbao spoke, he looked at Liu Hu again.Seeing that he listened to them talking about his life-long events, his face remained unchanged, and he was still making tea in a leisurely manner, he couldn't help but feel even more satisfied.

It's really a pity
After a while, Liu Hu had already made the tea and poured a cup steadily. Liu Yong couldn't wait to send it to He Shanbao: "Brother He, please taste it and see how it tastes?"

In this way, Liu Hu put the second cup poured in front of Liu Yong.

"Okay, you go down first."

"Yes."

Liu Hu put the utensils in order again, bowed to the old man, turned and left again.

"How is it?" Seeing that He Shanbao had already tasted it, Liu Yong asked with a smile.

He Shanbao also replied with a smile: "Although the taste is light, the aftertaste has a heavy feeling. It is like a state of mind after experiencing the prosperity of the world and fully realizing the various aspects of life. This tea seems to be specially made for Brother Liu. It’s so-so, but it’s the first time I’ve had such a good tea.”

Liu Yong said: "Where is it specially made for me? According to the Jia family boy, he got this tea a few years ago, and I only got to taste it recently."

He Shanbao smiled, and didn't want to say too much here, so he said slowly: "Brother Liu has worked hard for the country for decades, and now he is finally able to return home to be honored and raised. Originally, I didn't dare to bother with those mundane things. Brother Liu's.
It's just that I've been stuck in a quagmire recently and I can't extricate myself, so I have to have the audacity to ask Brother Liu for advice, and I also ask Brother Liu to give some advice for the sake of being a minister in the same palace in the past. This is not only my luck, but also everyone The luck of the former ministers."

He Shanbao said, got up and bowed to Liu Yong, but before he raised his head, he was dragged back to his seat by Liu Yong.He also heard Liu Yong say: "Brother He is really serious. If you are confused, just talk about it. If Liu knows, he will know everything and say everything."

In this way, He Shanbao sat down with peace of mind, and said: "I am ashamed to say that since Brother Liu was disarmed, I have left a good situation for me. Originally, I thought that even if I couldn't compare with Brother Liu, I would be able to do it in ten years or so. Great Chu's national situation has undergone earth-shaking changes, but at least it can maintain the original situation. Who knows, after [-], let alone catch up with Brother Liu and transform Da Chu, now even he himself is in a precarious state
In this way, I discovered the difficulty of governing.

In the past, I followed Brother Liu, and I saw with my own eyes that Brother Liu was able to kill and make decisions, strategize, and win thousands of miles out of wisdom.I said Brother Liu, don’t joke, I used to envy Brother Liu very much.
Why is it that when I sit in Brother Liu's seat, it becomes more and more difficult step by step?Could it be that I'm really not suitable to be the first assistant to make decisions personally, but only suitable to be a second assistant, assisting a wise and wise first assistant like Brother Liu?
Brother Liu, why did you teach me? "

From the beginning to the end, Liu Yong just listened to He Shanbao's statement quietly. After he finished speaking, Liu Yong had already poured him a cup of tea and handed it to him.

He Shanbao didn't drink after taking it, but just looked at Liu Yong burningly.

"Brother He is self-effacing. Although I haven't been out much these years, I also know that today's Great Chu is rich and the people are strong, and the people live and work in peace and contentment. How could there be no brother He's credit for this?"

Liu Yong said softly.

He Shanbao shook his head and said: "Brother Liu, you don't need to be lenient. I am very clear about the current situation in the court, and I believe Brother Liu is also clear. Under such circumstances, how can I deceive myself and others?
Let alone my merits and demerits, I have my own history books to record them.Now I just want to know, how can we solve the current crisis of the imperial court? "

Liu Yong asked suspiciously: "Isn't the imperial court in good shape? Is there any crisis that Brother He should be so worried about?"

He Shanbao was puzzled and said: "Brother Liu doesn't know what happened in the court in the past six months? The Holy Majesty used the case three years ago to increase his involvement. Now more than a dozen of his colleagues have been imprisoned. The court is now saying No exaggeration.

I don't hide from Brother Liu, the current direction of the government and the opposition has already blown towards me. I think it won't be long before the Holy Majesty will have a showdown with me. At that time, how will the court deal with itself? "

Liu Yong asked: "Your Majesty has added implicated people? Let me ask Brother He, did His Majesty create unjust, false and wrongly decided cases on a large scale? Did He kill Zhongliang in vain? Did He poison the people of the world?"

He Shanbao was silent, and then said: "However, if the Holy Majesty's will is fulfilled, we, the remaining ministers of the Supreme Emperor, will have no place in the imperial court."

Liu Yong's complexion sank, and he interrupted: "Could it be that Brother He hasn't discovered the root cause of the current situation?"

He Shanbao looked at Liu Yong.Liu Yongdao: "The emperor is the emperor, and the minister is the minister! Why does Brother He still regard himself as the remnant of the Supreme Emperor? Brother He is the minister of the Supreme Emperor, isn't he the minister of the Supreme Emperor?"

He Shanbao said: "Of course it is, it's just."

What He Shanbao wanted to say was that even the emperor would automatically attribute them to the survivors of the Supreme Emperor.

Liu Yong naturally knew what He Shanbao meant, and said: "Brother He said that the imperial court is facing a crisis. I don't know about this, and I have no right to investigate it. Now these things have nothing to do with me. It's time for you to worry about it.

It's just that I have been an official in the same dynasty for so many years, and now that you are kind enough to come to see me, I have no choice but to say something more. "

He Shanbao said happily, "Brother Liu, please tell me."

Liu Yong stared at the tea in the cup, and said slowly: "If there is no current situation, Brother He, have you thought about how to plan after the eternity?"

He Shanbao's complexion changed, and he said hastily: "Brother Liu, don't talk nonsense, the Supreme Being is in good health, how could that happen?"

Liu Yong looked at He Shanbao with a smile until he stopped himself.

"According to Brother Liu, could it be that you want me to join His Majesty? Even so, I'm afraid His Majesty may not be able to tolerate me. Besides, there are so many colleagues behind me, how can everyone be willing?"

He Shanbao hesitated.Now that the Supreme Emperor is still here, how can it be said that if you change the court, you will change the court.

Liu Yong shook his head and said: "I'm just asking casually. As for what to do, Brother He has to decide for himself. Now that I'm an outsider, how can I really give Brother He any good advice.

It's just that I think brother He must understand a truth. Since ancient times, it has been said that "the king wants the minister to die, and the minister has to die." "

He Shanbao Xiao Suo said: "But, now I'm on the verge of riding a tiger. That's all for me. No matter what His Majesty wants to do with me, I have no complaints. However, I can't bear to cause drastic changes in the imperial court. When the time comes, I will become an eternity." sinner

If he falls, it not only means that the people of his faction will also fall, but most importantly, he is also a symbol of the Supreme Emperor in the court. Once he falls, many people will feel uneasy.I don't even know what step the emperor wants to achieve. Is it aimed at him alone, or wants to completely take power.
If it's the latter, then even he can't predict the consequences.

But Liu Yong said: "Brother He, don't worry, nothing will happen to the court."

He Shanbao looked up at Liu Yong.

But at this time Liu Hu walked into the small garden again, and said to Liu Yong, "Grandpa, it's time for you to drink the medicine."

Liu Yong smiled apologetically at He Shanbao: "When people are old, they have to soak in these soups and waters every day, and they can't live without it for a moment. There is no way. If a person wants to live, he must abide by the rules. Going to report for work, ha ha."

Although He Shanbao didn't get the answer he wanted clearly, he could only say: "Since that's the case, then I won't bother you any more."

Liu Yong said: "Neglect."

"Where, Brother Liu, please take good care of yourself. I will visit you another day."

"Hu'er, send me the chief assistant."

After He Shanbao left, Liu Yong did not go back to the house to drink the medicine, but sat back on the stone bench again.

A man came by.

"Father, do you think Mr. He can get away this time?"

Liu Yong was silent for a while, then sighed faintly and said: "It's difficult, even if he survives this time, the future will definitely be even more unpredictable. Once a person makes a wrong step, he will always make mistakes. He, there is no turning back. gone."

Liu Xiangbai also looked heavy, and said for a long time: "Father really has no way to crack it?"

Liu Yong glanced at him indifferently, and Liu Xiangbai quickly lowered his head.

"The world is unpredictable, and there is no way to explain it, everything is just to avoid danger according to the changes of the times.

Since you are not involved in this incident, you should not get involved, the court is doomed to fall into a treacherous state in the days to come, and no one can turn it around unless..."

Liu Yong stopped talking halfway, Liu Xiangbai could only say: "Yes, my son knows."

(End of this chapter)