Chapter 474: Meeting His Royal Highness the Grandson
The originally relaxed atmosphere in the room suddenly changed, and Cao Dejiang and Shi Changan both looked at Xiao Yan.
Xiao Yan faced their gazes calmly, "I am alone and have nothing to repay you. Even though I have someone I love, I cannot commit myself to the girl in your old mansion. I must repay Cao Gong's kindness. Since you don't lack other things, I will accept you as my teacher with Tang Ning."
"This matter does not need to be publicized for the time being. You will still be your Imperial Censor in the court. If I can succeed in the future, Tang Ning and I will offer you tea as a token of respect, respect you as the Imperial Tutor, and the Cao family members as your fellow disciples. I will allow you to use Rongsheng Academy as a base to educate the world."
"If anything were to happen, just consider it your bad luck to have accepted two cheap disciples for nothing. The Cao family doesn't need to be implicated by the two of us."
Cao Dejiang was shocked. Xiao Yan's words were equivalent to promising him the position of imperial teacher and promising to protect the Cao family's future without him having to take any risk.
The matter of becoming an apprentice was not disclosed to outsiders, which meant that the Cao family did not have to be tied to Xiao Yan, and Xiao Yan did not need him to take sides in the court and betray Emperor An to act for him.
Cao Dejiang had no doubt that Xiao Yan was trying to fool him. Not to mention that Xiao Yan always kept his word, even if Xiao Yan really had the ambition to fight for that position, what he said to him today was a promise, an emperor's promise, which was of great weight.
If he regrets it, then what is the difference between Xiao Yan and Emperor An?
Cao Dejiang pursed his lips and said, "There's no need to become my disciple."
Xiao Yan raised his eyes. He thought Cao Dejiang would not refuse.
Cao Dejiang looked at Tang Ning and said, "Tang Ning and I have a history. I was once instructed by Master Rong and then became his disciple. My teacher and Master Rong's teacher were from the same school. Before I entered the court, I used to call Master Rong Senior Brother."
"Based on our relationship, this girl should call me Uncle Master, or even Uncle Grandfather. If I drink this cup of apprenticeship tea from you, this little girl should call you Uncle Master."
He said to Xiao Yan with a half-smile:
"Of course, if you're not afraid of the generation gap between us, it's okay to become her disciple."
Xiao Yan changed his words without hesitation: "You are joking. Master is not as close as my uncle."
Cao Dejiang immediately sneered.
Shi Changan standing by also made a "tsk" sound and used a pair of tongs to move the roasted chestnuts to the side.
Tang Ning was curious: "Then why haven't I heard my grandfather mention this before?"
Cao Dejiang: "I have betrayed my master."
Tang Ning: “???”
Seeing her eyes widen, Cao Dejiang laughed, "Why, not like?"
Tang Ning nodded: "Not like it."
Cao Dejiang doesn't look like a "rebellious" person at all. You have to know that among the heaven, earth, emperor, parents and teachers, the relationship between master and apprentice is sometimes more difficult to distinguish than that between father and son, or emperor and minister. Once a teacher, always a father is no joke.
Especially for scholars, respecting teachers is the bottom line. Once they betray it, they will be condemned by the world.
Cao Dejiang seemed to see Tang Ning's confusion and said calmly, "When I was young, I had an extreme temper and acted rashly, full of ambitions to make a name for myself. However, the people in my school were all indifferent to fame and fortune, and they felt that if scholars dabbled in power and money, it would be a disgrace to the books."
"Brother Rong entered the imperial court because of his personal relationship with Taizu, and only came down from the mountain after Taizu visited him three times. I am different from him. I was able to enter the officialdom with the help of the ancestors of the Cao family and some unscrupulous means."
"My teacher thought I had betrayed him, so he expelled me from the sect and forbade me to speak of the past."
Not all things in the past were good, and some could even be considered stains on Cao Dejiang, but he spoke of them very calmly.
"When I entered the court, Senior Brother Rong was already a third-rank official, ranked among the secretaries. By the time I finally climbed into the Hanlin Academy and was promoted to the fifth rank, Senior Brother Rong was already a first-rank official."
"At that time, I was arrogant and felt that I was more suitable for the court than Senior Brother Rong. However, I was not appreciated by the palace. I was afraid that if others knew that we were from the same school, we would be ridiculed and compared. I also didn't want people to say that I was clinging to the Rong family. Even my parents and relatives didn't know that I had studied with him, and no one in the court knew that we were friends."
At that time, the Cao family was just a small family, even more inconspicuous compared to the eight great families.
He refused to give in and ask for help from Rong Qian'an, so he could only slowly gain seniority in the court. It was not until he was appreciated by the crown prince and unexpectedly caught the eye of Emperor Taizu that he gradually gained status in the court. However, his relationship with Rong Qian'an, who was already the crown prince's tutor, was not harmonious.
At that time, they were both present before the Emperor, and everyone knew that Cao Dejiang and Rong Qian'an were not on good terms. In order to win the Emperor's favor, it was common for Cao Dejiang and Rong Qian'an to have different political views.
He acts radically, while Rong Qianan is more tactful.
He will do anything to achieve his goal, but Rong Qian'an has a bottom line.
But who could have imagined that later when the Crown Prince wanted to eradicate the aristocratic families and reform the court, he did not agree for various reasons, and felt that the aristocratic families could coexist with the new policies and be slowly assimilated and weakened.
On the contrary, Rong Qian'an, who always acted prudently, seemed to be possessed. He felt that the aristocratic families were encroaching on the court and hindering the national strength of Wei. Together with the Crown Prince, he acted rashly without any consideration and ended up in such a situation.
Cao Dejiang did not elaborate on the grudge between him and Rong Qianan. He just said a few words:
"After I entered the court, no one knew about our relationship. The only time I interacted with Senior Brother Rong was on the day when the Crown Prince was defeated and the East Palace caught fire. He suddenly sent a message from the palace, asking me to come to the palace immediately."
He said that the prince had failed and his life was at stake, and he hoped that his junior brother would come to the palace to help.
Rong Qian'an seemed certain that he would go, so he sent someone to hurriedly deliver a message, and then went straight to the late emperor and made a big fuss, attracting the attention of everyone in the palace.
Cao Dejiang also went there because of the long-lost words "Junior Brother", but because he left in a hurry and acted too hastily, he left traces that were discovered by Feng Lai.
Cao Dejiang's expression was complicated. "The fact that someone was still alive in the Eastern Palace at that time shocked me greatly. In a hurry, I could only find a young eunuch of the same age who happened to be seriously ill and send him to the fire scene."
"Afterwards, I took the risk of taking the escaped Eunuch Xu away. Just to be on the safe side, I took him out of captivity and placed him somewhere outside the capital. I also placed a disfigured child next to him."
"If the palace discovers that anyone has escaped from the fire in the East Palace, my people will kill them immediately."
Whether Eunuch Xu is willing or not, he will take the beggar with him to sacrifice his life for his master and completely end the old history of the Eastern Palace.
Who would have thought that it was Concubine Xue who died in the end? With Rong Qian'an and Feng Lai secretly covering up the matter, no one in the palace noticed that there was something strange about the corpse carried out of the hall after the fire was extinguished.
Xiao Yan listened to Cao Dejiang's words and couldn't help but sigh: "So what about Eunuch Xu now..."
"In my house."
Cao Dejiang called out to the outside: "Cong'an, go get Uncle Xu to come over."
After a moment of response from outside, Canglang saw Cong'an go to the side room next to Yanlingju. After knocking on the door, a man came out.
The man followed Cong'an with his head down. When he got closer and saw his face clearly, Canglang was shocked.
He had seen this man before.
Eunuch Xu followed Cong'an into the house. The heat from the burning charcoal fire filled the room, but it was no match for the surging emotions in his heart.
He walked hurriedly to the inner room and only slowed down when he reached the stairs.
Cong An retreated to the side, Eunuch Xu reached out and tugged at the hem of his clothes, smoothing out his sleeves, then, with red eyes filled with excitement, he bent his knees and fell to the ground with a "bang" towards Xiao Yan.
"This old servant, Xu Yu, pays homage to His Royal Highness the Emperor's eldest grandson."
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