Jiuxi

Chapter 620: 618 [High above, far away voice]

In late June, several major events occurred one after another, attracting the attention of countless people in the capital.

Han Lingfu's funeral was solemn and dignified. The emperor came in person on the day of the funeral, and all the dignitaries in the city were present.

The truth of the assassination case came to light, and Li Zongjian once again became the target of public criticism. However, the current emperor was merciful and spared his life because they were both descendants of the previous emperor, and locked him up in the Heavenly Prison.

The soldiers of the two major camps of the Beijing army returned from Jiangbei with honor. Lu Chen and Han Zhongjie, on behalf of the emperor, went to Chunfeng Pavilion in the northern suburbs to welcome them.

There were 60,000 soldiers who left, but less than 40,000 who returned. However, after being tempered by the flames of war, the surviving soldiers from the Beijing camp showed their fierceness and bravery in every move, which shocked the people watching on the roadside.

In the light of these major events, the personnel changes in the court seem insignificant.

When the Minister of Rites Xie Zhen begged to retire, the emperor gave him a copy of the "Book of Rites" written by him and one hundred taels of gold, and conferred the title of Grand Secretary of Guanwen Hall on Xie Zhen. Xie Zhen retired with the rank of the first rank, which was a glorious return to his hometown.

With the recommendation of the Ministry of Personnel and the approval of the emperor, Li Shizhi, the Left Vice Minister of Rites, was promoted to the Minister of Rites.

"Minister Li is not at home? I wanted to take this opportunity to congratulate him on his promotion."

In the flower hall of the prime minister's residence, Lu Chen looked at the old man opposite him with a smile, and there was a hint of insincerity in his words.

Li Daoyan raised his hand and nodded at him, smiling, "You are asking even though you know the answer. He has just taken office as the Minister of Rites, and he has not sorted out the things on hand. He also has to attend to guests and guests, so how can he have the leisure to stay at home with an old man like me?"

Lu Chen's eyes swept over the delicacies on the table in front of him and he exclaimed: "The father is a prime minister, and the son is a minister. The Jinlin Li family is worthy of being the most prestigious family in Jiangnan."

The old man joked: "That being said, it's still not as good as the Guangling Lu family."

The young man Li Gongxu who was standing nearby serving could not help but smile.

Lu Chen pretended to be distressed and said, "Old Prime Minister, I have never offended you. Why do you have to use such a method of flattery?"

"Praise for killing?"

Li Daoyan pondered over these two words and said leisurely, "I don't think so. Before you rose to prominence, thanks to your father's hard work and diligence, the Guangling Lu family was already a wealthy family in Huaizhou. Now you have great power and supporters in the court, and in Jiangbei, there are many people who respond to your call. In addition, the Zhailin Wang family moved to Guangling with their entire family. This is a thousand-year-old family that is even better than the Li family, and they are willing to follow your lead. There is also the Seven Stars Gang Lin family, a force that is stronger than the heroes in the grassroots, and is willing to serve you. In this way, how can the Guangling Lu family not be called the most prestigious family in the market?"

If someone else said this, it would naturally sound malicious and suggestive.

Heavily powerful, following the lead of others, and overpowering all the heroes, these descriptions sound creepy, and it's just short of having the four words "too successful to be a threat to the master" written directly on Lu Chen's face.

Lu Chen let out a long sigh and turned to stare at the young man next to him.

Li Daoyan asked with interest: "What are you looking at him doing?"

Lu Chen's expression was slightly resentful: "I'm thinking about whether to expel him from the sect."

Li Gongxu was startled, then he suppressed his smile and said, "Sir, what does this have to do with me?"

Lu Chen said darkly: "The old prime minister wants to use me as a scapegoat, so I have no choice but to take it out on you."

Of course Li Gongxu knew that he was just joking, so he stood aside obediently.

"Don't bully the young fish."

Li Daoyan smiled slightly, and then said to Li Gongxu: "Let me introduce these dishes to your husband."

"Yes, grandfather."

Li Gongxu bowed his head, then walked to the side of the round table and said, "Sir, this is the traditional family banquet that my family uses to entertain distinguished guests. There are fifteen main dishes and eight side dishes."

"Fifteen main dishes, namely, quail cooked with flowers, three crisp soup, sprout tripe, gizzard skewers, fried mandarin duck tripe, sand fish sashimi, goose gizzard soup, crab stuffed with sashimi, fresh shrimp hoof sashimi, hand-washing crab, five-treasure sashimi, pig tripe and fake river ray, shrimp sashimi, two-color cocoon soup, and blood powder soup."

He introduced the dishes patiently, and each time he mentioned a dish, he would bring it to Lu Chen and ask him to taste it.

Lu Chen did not refuse, and after tasting a round, he felt extremely satisfied.

As expected of a prominent family that has been passed down for hundreds of years, the Li family's chefs are obviously a level better than those famous chefs outside.

As the saying goes, the best food is in the capital. Lu Chen has tried the flavors of various famous restaurants in the past few years. He has also eaten at Fanlou and Moyuan many times. However, compared with the dishes at today's banquet, not only is there a huge gap, but the taste is indeed incomparable.

Li Daoyan was old and had a small appetite, so he only used a few chopsticks. Most of the time, he watched the master and disciple pair who were getting along very well with a smile on his face.

After tasting it, Lu Chen drank half a cup of the mellow Dihuayun and praised: "Such a delicious dish, I wonder how many gourmets want it but can't get it."

Li Daoyan said gently: "As long as you like it."

Lu Chen sighed, "It's a pity that we will be heading north soon, and we won't be able to eat it even if we want to."

Li Daoyan couldn't help laughing and said, "How difficult is that? I'll ask the chef at home to go with you."

"really?"

"No empty words."

"I am grateful for your kindness, old Prime Minister, but I'd rather forget it. It's hard for people to leave their hometown, and it's not appropriate to ask the chef to leave his hometown just because I want to satisfy my appetite. Besides, although cooking skills are important, ingredients are also crucial. I can't just ask someone to bring these fresh ingredients from Jiangnan to Jiangbei. I don't want to offend those noble censors."

Lu Chen finished the remaining half cup of Dihuayun, and then said with satisfaction: "I am full, thank you for the hospitality, old prime minister."

Li Gongxu pondered over his previous words, and felt that the young gentleman was hinting at something. Li Daoyan looked calm, and then slowly stood up and said, "You have come here with great difficulty, why don't you accompany me for a walk in the mansion."

Lu Chen smiled and said, "How dare you disobey my order."

An old man and a young boy strolled along the tree-lined path, and Li Gongxu followed respectfully behind them.

The Xiang Mansion covers a large area, with numerous pavilions and halls, as well as numerous rugged rocks and running water running through the mansion. It is a typical Jiangnan garden.

Hundreds of years of rich heritage, the details are even more extraordinary.

But these two people's minds were obviously not on the scenery.

Today, Li Daoyan specially invited Lu Chen to his house through Li Gongxu for a chat, as a fulfillment of his wish.

We sat for a while before the banquet and chatted during the banquet, talking about love, romance and interesting things in the capital. Now we should get to the point.

Li Daoyan spoke first, saying calmly: "The other day I received a secret letter from Jiangbei."

Lu Chen listened quietly.

Li Daoyan continued: "The person who wrote the letter was Yao Chong, the governor of Huaizhou."

Lu Chen narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "I remember that Governor Yao was the disciple of the old prime minister?"

"You can say that, but his current status has little to do with me."

Li Daoyan said this in passing, and said meaningfully: "Yao Chong only said one thing in the letter, that he wants to return to Beijing to take up a post, even if his rank is reduced."

It is not uncommon for local officials to want to come to Beijing to seek an official position, but it is different for a governor, who is a high-ranking official that countless people dream of.

Although Yao Chong could not be considered a local emperor in Huaizhou, he could be considered a man whose orders were carried out by the emperor and whose words were binding.

Not to mention that now each central government department is basically assigned a position to each person, and there is no position suitable for Yao Chong. If he is transferred back to the capital rashly, he will most likely be temporarily unemployed.

Under such circumstances, it seemed quite strange that he wanted to be transferred back to the capital.

Lu Chen's heart moved. He had discussed this matter with Li Tianrun before. At that time, he did not hold much hope, because the governor was in a high position of power and importance, no less than the six ministers. Officials of this level certainly could not be replaced at will. Besides, he had no suitable candidate to replace Yao Chong.

Unexpectedly, after just over a month, Yao Chong began to consider retiring.

In front of this old man who was used to the ups and downs of officialdom, Lu Chen asked calmly and frankly: "Could it be that the old prime minister suspects that this matter has something to do with me?"

Li Daoyan did not comment, and slowly said: "Yao Chong did not mention your name in the letter, he only said that he wanted to return to Beijing to take up a post, and he has been the governor of Huaizhou for six years, according to the court's regulations, he should be replaced. Considering the special nature of Huaizhou, I would like to ask you, if you want to replace Yao Chong, then I can replace him with a successor that you are satisfied with."

Lu Chen said: "Old Prime Minister thinks highly of me. I know nothing about this matter."

Li Daoyan asked, "You really don't know?"

Lu Chen shook his head slightly and said calmly, "I really don't know. In fact, no matter who is the governor of Huaizhou, I think he will not deliberately make things difficult for the Lu family's assets, so why should I do this?"

"It makes sense."

Li Daoyan spoke in a gentle tone, looking at the pavilion in front of him, and said carefully: "Do you have anyone suitable to recommend?"

Lu Chen laughed and said, "Old Prime Minister, what you said is undoubtedly asking a blind man for advice. If it was a general in the army, I could still give some advice. But this involves a civil official in the court, and a high-ranking official at the level of a governor. How could I possibly talk nonsense?"

"Well, let the Ministry of Personnel recommend one."

The old man's face was calm, and his old eyes looked even deeper.

Li Gongxu, who was walking behind, looked at their backs thoughtfully.

Lu Chen's heart was as clear as a mirror. The old man beside him was the most complicated person he had ever met since he came to this world.

Ordinary standards have no meaning for him.

He was not only a loyal minister who supported the Great Qi and was loyal to the previous emperor, but also a treacherous prime minister who was the head of a powerful family in the eyes of many people and who seized countless wealth for the Li family.

He not only supported and cared for Lu Chen, but also never stopped warning him.

Just like the question just now.

If Lu Chen revealed even the slightest flaw, the old man could easily crush Li Tianrun's secret plan.

Without his approval, Yao Chong would continue to be the governor of Huaizhou.

Thinking of this, Lu Chen turned his head and looked at the old man's thin body. He felt something in his heart and sighed, "In fact, many times, I don't understand what the old prime minister is thinking. You give me a very contradictory feeling, just like an ignorant child, facing the dazzling array of toys in front of him, he doesn't want to put down anything and wants to hold everything in his arms."

Li Daoyan's expression remained normal, with the corners of his mouth slightly raised.

Then there was a hearty and rare laugh.

(End of this chapter)