Sheng Tang: What is Liu Jianjun going to do today?

Chapter 87 Applying face cream and dyeing beard as a form of self-deception

This time, Liu Nayan couldn't sit still and hurriedly stood up, reaching out to help Li Xian up.

"Your Highness, you flatter me. Serving Your Highness is my duty. It's just some ink; I'll wash it a few more times and it'll be fine!"

Liu Jianjun chuckled and said, "Why bother washing? It's fine as it is! You look young, Mr. Liu, don't you want to serve His Highness for a few more years?"

Liu Neyan subconsciously glared at him.

But Liu Jianjun continued reciting: "Frosty leaves fall into the air, sparrows peck at the fence, I climb the stairs with great strength. Facing the flowers and drinking wine, I am unwilling to grow old, I use rouge on my face and dye my beard to deceive myself."

"Even in times of peace, I know you enjoy drinking; though talented, you may be hindered by worldly concerns. Behold your usual sip of wine; a golden mallet seems to control your chin!"①

This time, Liu Nayan was taken aback, and murmured, "There will be a golden cone to control the chin..."

After a moment, he stood in awe and bowed to Liu Jianjun, saying, "Liu Changshi's talent is beyond my reach!"

Li Xian also looked at Liu Jianjun in surprise.

He knew that Liu Jianjun was talented in poetry, but it seemed that he used his talent in places of pleasure.

On ordinary days, they either make some kind of teasing works like "one piece, two pieces, three or four pieces", or some vulgar works like "yellow dog with white on its body, white dog with swollen body".

There are very few times when I write poetry with such solemnity.

One instance is the "Difficulty of the Shu Road" in Bazhou, another is the visit of Taiping and Li Xian, and the third is now.

But they all seem to have worked very well.

After hearing the poem, "I'm not willing to grow old while drinking wine and admiring flowers; I'll use face cream and beard dye to deceive myself," Liu Neyan's attitude towards Liu Jianjun improved considerably. The three of them sat down and chatted for a while. Finally, Liu Neyan couldn't help but ask, "Your Highness, what was the deeper meaning behind the letter that Chief Secretary Liu asked me to deliver last night?"

Li Xian subconsciously looked at Liu Jianjun.

Liu Jianjun glanced at Li Xian, cleared his throat, and sang, "For the rest of my life..."

After finishing the song, he looked at Liu Nayan, who was still dumbfounded, and said, "Jianjun has long heard that the eldest granddaughter of Minister Liu's household is beautiful, so..."

"Absurd! Absurd!"

Liu Neyan stood up, his face flushed, and rebuked, "This brat is not worth planning anything with!"

After saying that, he turned and walked out of the courtyard.

After Liu Neyan had walked away, Li Xiancai said with a hint of annoyance, "Didn't you say that if Liu Neyan went to deliver the letter, it would be believable? Why are you still so angry with him?"

"It's not that I'm angry with him. Although this old man is trustworthy now, we don't need to tell him about our affairs."

"Why?"

"It's not the cunning of bad people that's scary, it's the sudden inspiration of fools. This old man is too old-fashioned. It's fine to let him teach Guangshun and the others how to write, but there's no need to let him get involved in this kind of thing."

Li Xian nodded; he trusted Liu Jianjun.

"So... what do we do next?"

"Wait... never mind, let's use another word, let's lie low. Let's not even go to Di Renjie's place for now. Let's lie low until your mother drives Xianzi down and moves the capital to Luoyang. At that time, with Liu Rengui helping us cover for us, that will be the time for us to show our true colors."

"Alright, tell me what Liu Rengui did today?"

Li Xian nodded and recounted everything that had happened during court that day.

Liu Jianjun nodded in admiration: "Not bad, this old man directly overturned the table with Empress Wu, showing that he is a staunch supporter of the Li Tang dynasty and dispelling your mother's concerns."

"That's perfect. He's smart, and it'll make us safer too."

……

The next day.

Li Xian was woken up by Liu Jianjun.

Stepping out of the room, Liu Jianjun was grinning, his gleaming white teeth contrasting sharply with his dark complexion. Li Xian noticed that Liu Jianjun seemed to have grown taller again.

Standing next to Liu Jianjun was an old man with black hair and a black beard. Li Xian was wondering when such an old man had appeared in the mansion. When he looked at the old man's face, he realized that the old man was Liu Neyan.

He even dyed his hair and beard black.

Seemingly sensing the astonishment in Li Xian's eyes, Liu Neyan awkwardly cupped his hands and said, "This old minister... I've dyed my face and beard to deceive myself."

Li Xian couldn't help but chuckle softly.

It feels good.

But before Li Xian could say anything to Liu Neyan, Liu Jianjun grabbed Li Xian's arm and said, "Xianzi, come on, let's go see my nephews!"

Li Xian was stunned for a moment, then Liu Jianjun dragged him toward Nanyuan.

The two walked quickly ahead, leaving Liu Neyan far behind.

Li Xian asked with a smile, "Judging from Mr. Liu's expression, it seems he doesn't mind what happened yesterday?"

"I don't care at all, but I'm best at dealing with these kinds of Confucian scholars. I just need to use the moral high ground to pressure them a little and that's it... Of course, the main reason is that this old man has a kind of blind loyalty in his bones."

Li Xian thought for a moment and then asked, "Then... since Mr. Liu is not a spy sent by the Empress Dowager, why did the Empress Dowager go to all this trouble?"

"Do you think Liu Neyan is useful to us?" Liu Jianjun asked rhetorically.

Li Xian thought for a moment and honestly shook his head.

Liu Nayan was the kind of pedantic, traditional scholar. What use was he, really? At most, he could recite a few classical texts. But as for how he helped himself…

Well, at least it can provide some emotional value.

"Isn't that enough? Your mother probably just threw some useless person over there. She's not really of any use, but she can make you feel grateful to her... After all, you and Liu Nayan have a pretty good relationship. Your mother knows you're the kind of person who's sentimental."

"This further demonstrates that your mother doesn't take you seriously at all."

As the two were talking, they arrived at Liu Jianjun's field. Liu Jianjun pulled Li Xian aside and then continued to hide, hunched over.

Li Xian looked toward that field.

Since the Kunlun slaves were put into service, the progress of the irrigation canal has been much faster, to the point that Li Xian has to squint to see Li Guangshun and the others at the end of the canal.

With just one glance, Li Xian noticed the difference in his sons.

First was Li Guangshun, who seemed to be laughing and talking to a Kunlun slave.

This is perfectly normal; Li Guangshun can talk animatedly with anyone. But this time, even the Kunlun slave was amused and chuckled, revealing teeth even whiter than Liu Jianjun's.

As for Li Guangren and Li Guangyi, the two of them were digging the ground with heavy breaths. Although they didn't say anything, Li Xian could tell that their digging skills had become much more proficient.

This must have been learned from those slaves.

My three sons have all changed a lot.

Li Xian asked, puzzled, "In the past, during the spring plowing ceremony, Father Emperor would personally go down to the field to demonstrate the plowing, and Guangshun and the others would learn from him. There is no difference from now, so why haven't their personalities changed?"

"Because one is truly doing practical work, while the other is just going through the motions," Liu Jianjun said meaningfully.

At this moment, Liu Neyan also followed, panting heavily. He was getting on in years, and sweat had already beaded on his forehead after just a few steps.

Li Xian also noticed that ink, damp with sweat, was dripping down his forehead.

At this moment, Liu Jianjun looked at Liu Neyan and solemnly said, "Mr. Liu, from now on, the three young princes will be formally taught by you."

……

　① Su Shi, "Following the Rhyme of Wang Tinglao's Poem Sent by Zhang on the Seventeenth and Ninth Days"

　　P.S.: Tonight I'm going to have a solo match with the operations team. If I lose, I'll get extra 10,000 yuan per day when the game is released. I'm making this post as proof (those who haven't joined the group can join to watch).
　　
　
(End of this chapter)