Jiuxi

Chapter 342 340 [All eyes on]

Yongjia Nancheng, Pingkangfang.

The courtyard of Li's mansion is deep, surrounded by smoke and cold water. Everywhere you look is filled with flowers and riches.

In the waterside pavilion in the southeast corner, Li Daoyan, with gray hair on his temples, sat on a couch covered with a mattress, his hands clasped in front of his lower abdomen, his eyes slightly closed, bathing in the warm sunshine of late spring.

Next to him was a twelve or thirteen-year-old boy, wearing a pair of luxurious single clothes, sitting on a small round stool, holding a volume of poetry in his hand, reading silently and carefully.

The boy's name is Li Gongxu, nicknamed Zhiyu. He is the youngest son of Li Daoyan's fourth son, Li Dezhi, and is also Li Daoyan's youngest grandson.

There was a gentle breeze, and fish could be faintly seen swimming in the pool in front, while the servants outside the wind pavilion were silent.

There was peace and tranquility all around.

Li Daoyan slowly opened his old eyes and called, "Young fish."

The young man closed the book, stood up and handed the collection of poems to the servant not far away, turned around and replied: "Grandpa."

Li Daoyan looked at his respectful expression, with a kind smile on his face, and said, "Many people are going to the north of the city today to watch the excitement, including your useless cousins. Do you want to go?"

Li Gongxu replied crisply: "My grandson doesn't want to go."

Li Daoyan asked with great interest: "Why?"

Li Gongxu thought for a moment and then said: "Because my grandson wants to study more and doesn't want to waste time on useless things."

The latter sentence finally reveals a bit of childishness.

Li Daoyan smiled and said leisurely: "Do you think it is meaningless for the three princes and the ministers of the Manchu Dynasty to greet Shanyang Marquis Lu Chen today?"

There was a little trap hidden in this sentence. Although Li Gongxu was young but very smart, he explained calmly: "Grandpa, my grandson has never thought about it this way. This matter is very meaningful, but as an outsider, it will There is no point in wasting time on watching the excitement. Instead of envying others, it is better to work hard yourself."

Li Daoyan's eyes became gentler and he smiled: "Then from the perspective of Jiao Yu'er, what is the significance of welcoming people outside the city?"

Li Gongxu frowned slightly. Although this question was not particularly complicated, it was somewhat difficult for him.

Li Daoyan did not embarrass him and changed the topic: "Changing the question, what do you think of the Shanyang Marquis who has made outstanding achievements despite being a young man?"

Li Gongxu replied: "Back to my grandfather, there is a saying in ancient times that prosperity will inevitably decline. Shanyang Marquis is now so powerful that I'm afraid it won't last long. He was not from a formal imperial examination, and he has never been an official in Beijing. He has been working hard in the frontier army and has no influence on many officialdoms. He is not familiar with everything in Beijing. If he only stays in Beijing for a while this time, he should not have any trouble, but if he enters the officialdom of Beijing, grandson is not optimistic about his future. "

Li Daoyan pondered for a moment and said slowly: "Don't talk about these words in front of outsiders."

Li Gongxu lowered his head and said, "My grandson understands."

Li Daoyan breathed out slowly, looked up at the blue sky, and said softly: "Living in the capital is not easy. I just wonder if that young prince has the courage to change the rain and clouds, haha..."

The young man looked at the solemn expression on his grandfather's old face and couldn't help but fall into long thoughts.

Grandfather seemed to be very optimistic about the future of the young prince. Was he really wrong?

The young man was puzzled.

……

Weaving Department, General Office.

The maid Mo Ning walked into the heavily guarded courtyard with a food box, walked through the corridor to the pavilion in front of the east hall, walked around the screen and went straight into the inner room, where she saw the young master crouching at his desk in front of the window, seemingly not noticing anyone at all. Come in and still be immersed in the vast sea of ​​files.

Mo Ning sighed silently, walked closer with gentle steps, and said softly: "Sir, it's time to eat."

"it is good."

Yang Jingxuan put the file back to its original place, stood up and sat down at the table.

Mo Ning took out a bowl of green rice, a plate of green vegetables, a plate of braised duck with winter bamboo shoots, and a cup of wild pigeon soup from the food box.

Yang Jingxuan's eating manners are very meticulous, and he pays special attention to chewing carefully and slowly.

Mo Ning had been with him for many years and was very familiar with each other. He did not have to abide by the false etiquette, so he stood beside him and said: "Sir, I heard that the north of the city is very lively today. Several princes and princes are here. Except for the left prime minister, all the ministries in the court The chief officers of the government all went outside the city, just to welcome Shanyang Hou who was leading the army in triumph. The people in the city were looking forward to seeing the appearance of the frontier soldiers, especially Zhuque Street, which was full of people."

Yang Jingxuan responded lightly.

Mo Ning's topic turned to him again, and she persuaded: "Now that the war on the border has stopped temporarily, the affairs of the company should not be so busy. Why do you have to work hard every day, sir? Your body and bones are already weak. If you continue like this, I'm afraid... …”

She hesitated to speak, her eyes full of pity.

Yang Jingxuan swallowed the rice in his mouth and said slowly: "Although the war has been suspended, when will the Warp Weaving Department be free? Especially since our country has regained a large area of ​​territory. There is a mixed bag of fish and dragons on those territories, and the preservation is incomplete. There are also fine works left from the north. The Warp Weaving Department will only be busier in the future. Two days ago, my uncle told me that the new General Hou came to find him specially, saying that he encountered several sneak attacks by the Seventh Army of Shazhou on his way back to Beijing, and asked the Warp Weaving Department to send personnel to help him keep an eye on him. .”

He looked up at the pretty maid, with a touch of sarcasm on his lips: "Listen, the Sutra Weaver seems to have to do everything in the eyes of these adults."

Mo Ning said with shame: "It's my fault for talking too much. Young Master, you'd better eat first. The food will get cold after a while."

"Already full." Yang Jingxuan picked up the handkerchief she had prepared and wiped her mouth.

Mo Ning looked at the table and saw that he had eaten less than half of the bowl of green rice, the braised duck with winter bamboo shoots and marinated rice without even using his chopsticks, and he only ate some of the vegetables.

She sighed helplessly and advised: "Even if you have no appetite, you should still drink this cup of soup."

Yang Jingxuan looked at her insistent expression, shook his head and said, "You are becoming more and more like an old woman now."

Even so, he still picked up the soup cup and drank it slowly.

Mo Ning smiled slightly and said: "As long as the young master can take good care of his health, I am willing to be an old mother. Maybe Mr. Qin will reward me with a few hundred taels of silver when he sees that I take good care of me..."

"I plan to go to Dingzhou."

Yang Jingxuan suddenly interrupted her.

The smile on Mo Ning's face froze instantly, she looked at the young man blankly, and murmured: "Sir, what did you say?"

"I'm going to Dingzhou."

Yang Jingxuan seemed to be strengthening his confidence, and then said: "I have been training in the general office for nearly four years, and I have handled more than a thousand secret reports. I am qualified for external duties. I am familiar with the operating regulations of the Warp Weaving Department. Yu Xin also knows how to deploy people and train spies. Except for not knowing martial arts, I have all the abilities to take charge of a place. Huaizhou Su Yunqing has never fought against anyone, so it doesn't matter whether I know martial arts or not."

The panic in Mo Ning's eyes was obvious, and she shook her head and said, "Sir, Lord Qin will never agree with your idea."

Yang Jingxuan smiled faintly and did not respond directly to this sentence. He said calmly: "Just now you mentioned the hustle and bustle in Beicheng. In fact, I envy Lu Chen. Not for his military exploits and title, but for his ability to fight Jing Ren."

Mo Ning suddenly remembered something, and she could no longer say those words of persuasion.

Yang Jingxuan understood that she had already reacted, and nodded slightly: "You should know that my uncle will not object, because he cannot object. No matter what my identity is, avenging my parents is a matter of course."

He turned around and walked to the window, staring at an inch of sunshine outside the window, and said quietly: "Do you think that today in the capital, the streets are deserted, and Lu Chen enjoys the glory of being welcomed by hundreds of officials, but how many people actually understand the significance of his contributions? In the past two years, I was hiding in the dark and watching, and I’m afraid even my uncle wasn’t clear enough.”

"He seems to have infinite scenery among the crowd, but I feel that he, Governor Xiao and the border soldiers are lonely. The smell of this capital is becoming more and more depressing and disgusting to me, so I want to go to the border."

"Fight alongside them."

……

Zhuque Street runs through the north-south central axis of Yongjia City, starting from Wangjiang Gate in the north and ending at Yu Street outside the Imperial City in the south.

The three princes, Lu Chen and the Manchu ministers walked south along Zhuque Street, receiving cheers and appreciation from the people of the capital along the way.

Walking behind the princes, Lu Chen smiled and behaved appropriately.

Arriving at the square outside the palace, the surroundings finally became quiet.

The second prince said: "Is Marquis Shanyang interested in poetry and articles?"

This sentence came very suddenly. Lu Chen's eyes narrowed slightly, and then he said calmly: "Your Highness, I don't understand this."

The second prince smiled gently and said casually: "It doesn't matter if you don't understand. You are a martial artist but not a civil servant. There will be a poetry outing in Beijing in the next few days, and many people from the literary world will appear during the meeting. Many people have heard about you I was about to return to the capital, and I really wanted to see the frontier general in person, but I was afraid that you would not like it if I came to visit you, so I asked to come to me."

In front of the other two princes and a group of ministers, the second prince looked at Lu Shen and said leisurely: "I wonder if the Marquis of Shanyang can give me a face and let the literati in the capital learn more? Maybe there will be something good by then. When a famous article comes out, it is also a good story."

Lu Chen knew that his return to Beijing would not be peaceful, but he did not expect Huang Guizhou to be so direct these days.

First, the eldest prince quietly showed his intention to win over, and then the second prince extended an invitation to a so-called cultural meeting.

On the contrary, the third prince became very silent. Compared with his two elder brothers, he seemed to be suddenly more pleasing to the eye.

Before Lu Chen could answer, Xue Nanting, the right minister, smiled and said: "If Shanyang Marquis has some free time, there is no harm in going to relax."

The eldest prince's expression was as usual, and he glanced at the second prince unintentionally.

Lu Chen had some calculations in his mind, he lowered his head slightly and said: "Your Highness is so kind, but I am so disrespectful. I will definitely go when the time comes."

The second prince let out a burst of hearty laughter, cupped his hands and said: "It's cool! Then it's a deal!"

The eldest prince coughed slightly and interjected: "Marquis Shanyang, my father asked you to enter the palace alone to pay your respects."

"The minister obeys the order."

Lu Chen agreed and immediately turned to look at the majestic palace city. Outside Hening Gate, the great eunuch Lu Shizhou was waiting quietly with a dozen small yellow gates.

He bowed goodbye to the three princes and the Duke of Manchu, turned around and walked toward the palace gate, his steps steady and unhurried.

(End of this chapter)