The prince is more stable

Chapter 291: Clear grudges

The famous scholars of the Song Dynasty were all elegant and romantic, but they were not necessarily all friends. Most of them were involuntarily hostile to each other.

A reform forcibly divided the world's famous people into two camps, and many close friends who could become immortal stories were forced to become enemies who attacked each other.

For example, Wang Anshi and Sima Guang were sworn enemies during the Xining Reforms, and only reconciled later. However, the reconciliation was only based on personal friendship. Sima Guang, as the leader of the Old Party, was not polite to the New Party in terms of political views.

The same is true of Zhang Dun and Su Shi, who are simply copies of Wang Anshi and Sima Guang.

Both of them had their moments of glory, but as the rulers' attitudes towards reform changed again and again, their personal destinies also fluctuated accordingly.

Unfortunately, some grudges that have already occurred can never be resolved.

Cai Bian was the Imperial Secretary, a position that was not very high. He was able to enter and leave the government hall freely because of his other identity.

In fact, many people regarded Cai Bian as Zhang Dun's personal aide.

This identity is of great significance. As the prime minister's aide, he assists Zhang Dun in handling state affairs. In a few years, Cai Bian may be more than just a secretary. Zhang Dun's attitude towards him clearly shows that he intends to cultivate him as a candidate for prime minister.

Cai Bian was also very capable. He was famous for his resourcefulness. Compared with Zhang Dun's slightly impulsive and ruthless style, Cai Bian's greatest characteristic was the word "stable". No matter what happened, he could calm down in the first place and then seek solutions.

This is also the biggest reason why Zhang Dun regarded him as his aide.

Zhang Dun knew very well that Cai Bian's personality complemented his and they needed each other.

A resourceful person first of all has good vision.

Seeing Zhang Dun's gloomy face when he mentioned Su Shi, Cai Bian immediately thought of the grudge between the two and couldn't help but smile.

"Mr. Zhang, so many years have passed. You and Scholar Su are both in your sixties. What else is there that you can't let go of?"

Zhang Dun snorted coldly: "What did Su Shi do after returning to Beijing?"

Cai Bian said carefully, "Mr. Su has always been prestigious. After he returned to the capital, scholars and literati in Bianjing flocked to him, visiting him and inviting him to banquets."

Zhang Dun's face grew colder. "He's just a banished official. If you didn't know him, you'd think he'd been promoted and given power by returning to the capital. He's so proud and triumphant!"

Cai Bian's heart sank, and he secretly regretted mentioning Su Shi in front of him.

Su Shi was a man of unparalleled literary talent, but he was still a human being and made mistakes.

From the perspective of personal friendship, Su Shi was indeed unkind in the feud back then, and Zhang Dun has since deeply hated the Su family father, son and brothers.

After becoming prime minister in Shaosheng, Zhang Dun's character gradually turned darker, which was probably related to the feud with Su Shi in the past.

Seeing Zhang Dun's face becoming increasingly gloomy, Cai Bian felt heavy in his heart.

He was Zhang Dun's aide, but he was also a literati. There are few contemporary literati who do not admire Su Shi.

Cai Bian is no exception.

"Who are the people who interact and feast with Su Shi?" Zhang Dun suddenly asked.

Cai Bian shook his head. "I don't know. They should all be famous scholars or literati of the time. Perhaps there are also powerful officials. I heard that Su Shi took the initiative to visit the Prince of Chu on the second day after returning to Bianjing..."

Zhang Dun was stunned. He wanted to find a reason to make trouble for someone, but Cai Bian mentioned Zhao Xiaoqian as soon as he opened his mouth.

This person...it seems like he really can't afford to offend him.

Last time, he had reached a private agreement with Zhao Xiaoqian that they would keep out of each other's way from now on. What could Zhang Dun do if Su Shi and Zhao Xiaoqian continued to interact?
If this fire were to spread to Zhao Xiaoqian, Zhang Dun couldn't even imagine what kind of madness the young Duke of the County would go through.

If someone could break down the door of the Ministry of Justice, there's no doubt he'd burn down the Government Affairs Hall. Don't doubt it, he really has the guts to do it.

I can’t afford to offend you, just change someone else.

"What celebrity, what literati! Humph, in my opinion, when Su Shi returned to the capital, his old party members came to join him one after another. They gathered in the name of literature, but it was obvious that they were secretly forming a party and plotting to defy the new policies. They were disloyal!" Zhang Dun snorted angrily.

Cai Bian looked at him in astonishment. These words...did he really want to kill Su Shi?
The charge of "disloyalty" is a bit serious, isn't it? If it is true, Su Shi will be more than just exiled.

"It's a good opportunity to clear out another group of old party members." Zhang Dun gritted his teeth and made the decision.

Cai Bian hurriedly said, "Mr. Zhang, Scholar Su is very prestigious in the literary world. It's okay to demote him, but if he is punished, I'm afraid that all the famous scholars and writers in the world..."

Zhang Dun sneered, "I've experienced ups and downs throughout my life, why should I be afraid of the criticism of a few scholars?"

Seeing Cai Bian anxiously trying to persuade him again, Zhang Dun shook his head and said, "Yuandu, please stop trying. You said that I am already sixty years old and about to be buried. The difference between me and you is that before I am buried, I have resolved all the grudges in the world that need to be resolved. Otherwise, I will die with my eyes wide open."

"In my life, I have lived a life of clear distinction between gratitude and resentment!"

…………

Some of the beautiful scenes in life are actually secretly priced by fate.

It’s just that most people in the world don’t know what their own value is.

Ma Xing Street, Su Che's Mansion.

Zhao Xiaoqian rarely visited others in person, and of course, he was passive.

Yesterday I received a visiting card from Su Che, inviting him to a banquet at Zhao Xiaoqian's house.

As if knowing Zhao Xiaoqian's character, Su Zhe specially conveyed a message, explaining that today was a family dinner for the Su brothers and there were no outside guests.

Only then did Zhao Xiaoqian happily accept the invitation.

One still needs to understand some basic social etiquette. When Zhao Xiaoqian visited the house, he did not come empty-handed, but brought half a pound of tea.

Outside Su Zhe's mansion, the housekeeper was waiting for him early. When he saw Zhao Xiaoqian get off the carriage, the housekeeper hurried forward to greet him.

The Su family is indeed a family of famous scholars. Even the housekeeper is handsome, polite, gentle in his gestures, and warm in greetings without losing his demeanor.

The housekeeper led Zhao Xiaoqian in, walked straight through the hall, and into the backyard.

Su Che's mansion was not big, at least much smaller than the Prince of Chu's Palace. It was just a house with four courtyards in total, and it seemed that it had not been repaired for many years, and many places looked a bit dilapidated.

Under a peach tree, Su Zhe stood in the yard with a smile on his face, and behind him stood Su Shi.

Zhao Xiaoqian had a vague illusion that God had gotten the order wrong. Of the Su brothers in front of him, Su Zhe looked more like the elder brother, calm and reserved, while Su Shi looked more like the younger brother, frivolous and impulsive.

Perhaps Su Zhe had heard the phrase "brother, save me" too many times in his life, and had to force himself to mature. And Su Shi, with his brother as a backer, became even more unscrupulous and caused trouble everywhere.

"Mr. Ziyou, Mr. Zizhan, long time no see." Zhao Xiaoqian saluted with a smile.

Su Zhe stroked his beard and smiled, "It's been a long time since we last met. Zi'an and I were both in Bianjing. Counting on my fingers, I've not seen you for quite some time. After the victory in the Song-Xia War, Zi'an seems to have been even busier."

Zhao Xiaoqian's face flushed.

Busy... Not really busy, I'm just lazy.

Too lazy to maintain interpersonal relationships, too lazy to even go out, just staying in the palace like a salted fish, living a peaceful life without disturbing each other.

The two men stood in the yard and exchanged greetings, but Su Shi stared at the tea in Zhao Xiaoqian's hand.

"Since you're here, why bring a gift? Zi'an, you're being too polite!" Su Shi said as he stretched out his hand to take the paper bag from Zhao Xiaoqian's hand rudely.

Zhao Xiaoqian dodged to the side, glanced at Su Shi calmly, and asked, "Do you want to eat sweet or salty tofu pudding?"

Su Shi paused, then gritted his teeth and insisted on the truth: "Eat salty food!"

Zhao Xiaoqian held the tea leaves in front of Su Che with both hands and said, "This is just a small gift, not a token of respect. I specially gave it to Mr. Ziyou. Don't let irrelevant people take advantage of it..."

(End of this chapter)