Chapter 322 The Empress's Unsolvable Conspiracy
The emperor and the empress returned to the palace leisurely. After all, there was no other important matters today, so there was no need to rush.
Moreover, the sky was clear. Although there was some snow in some remote corners, it did not prevent us from taking a walk under the sunny weather.
We walked slowly, and I had no idea what we were talking about. We talked about this and that. Occasionally, the two of us were talking about the same topic, but they were not talking about the same thing. But in the end, we could get along with each other.
Free from worries, no ropes to worry about above, no shackles to restrain below.
If you don’t know, you would really think that this young couple has no worries or sorrows in their hearts and is enjoying their tenderness every day.
But just when the two of them walked onto the Imperial Road outside Chengtian Gate.
However, he saw that at Chengtian Gate, an imperial guard gave a preserved red leaf to a palace maid, and the palace maid's face turned red and she looked very shy. The imperial guards just smiled and no one disturbed her.
Su Changan was stunned for a moment when he saw this scene, then he pulled Xia Fengxiang and walked slower.
Seeing this, Xia Fengxiang just smiled and pretended he didn't see anything.
Seeing the soldiers and palace maids in such a state, even a fool could understand what was going on.
When they reached the outside of Chengtian Gate, the two men dispersed, and the imperial guard soldier stood at his post again, his colleagues around him seemed to be joking.
However, when they noticed Su Changan and Xia Fengxiang, they were all stunned and looked panicked.
But Su Changan and Xia Fengxiang didn't say much and walked straight in.
This made everyone feel relieved, especially the soldier who sent Hongye out. When he heard the people around him say the identities of these two people, he was so scared that he didn't dare to look and just stood there.
When the two men walked through the city gate, the soldiers couldn't help but be curious and secretly looked. When they saw the backs of these two greatest nobles in the world, walking leisurely hand in hand, the soldiers were stunned. It seemed that they thought of themselves, and they couldn't help but smile foolishly.
But suddenly
When the soldier saw the queen looking back at him, he was startled, but he didn't expect to see the queen smiling, and he immediately became frightened.
But when the Queen turned around and left, looking at the Emperor's back, it seemed as if she was smiling too.
The soldiers stood there in a daze.
Then he couldn't help but look at the captain standing beside him: "Brother Zhao, let's..."
When the captain of the imperial guards heard this, he immediately shouted in a low voice: "Don't talk. Don't you know who just passed by? And what you just did might have been seen. We will all be punished."
Upon hearing this, the soldier simply turned around to glance at the backs of the Emperor and the Empress, then said softly, "But I feel that the Emperor and the Empress are deliberately pretending not to see it."
Upon hearing this, the captain of the Imperial Guards frowned and said, "Shut up! How could those two do such a thing? After we change shifts, we will go to the deputy commander to confess our crimes."
The soldier just blinked, thinking of the Queen's smile just now, he couldn't help but look up at the sky, suddenly grinned, and then said: "Brother Zhao, I think the Queen has blessed me."
Hearing this, everyone looked at him as if he were a fool.
The soldier chuckled and looked at everyone: "I don't know why, I just feel this way."
Then he scratched his head embarrassedly. This was the first time he met the Queen and His Majesty.
Look at it this way.
Royal Palace
It's not as inhumane as others say.
…
In the Imperial College, the great priest Mu Xu lost face today, so he borrowed some money from someone and bought a jar of good wine and some peanuts. It was a rare luxury for him.
After all, in the past, this Lord Chief Priest always ate and drank for free, and never spent any money on his own initiative.
The old gentleman was wearing a Confucian robe, holding a glass of wine in one hand and some snacks in the other. He was thin and slightly hunched. Occasionally, when he walked past a lecture hall where classes were in progress, although he knew there was something important, he would stop for a moment to listen to the teacher's teaching. However, he did not get too close to the window to avoid disturbing the students' listening and the teacher's teaching.
After listening for a while, Mu Xu didn't say much and continued to stroll away.
If I occasionally met a teacher inspecting the academy, we would chat and laugh with each other.
Moreover, there have always been many students from other places coming to the Imperial College. Although they are not students of the academy, as long as their backgrounds are clear, they leave their names and have someone to guarantee them, the Imperial College will open its doors and accept them all for visits.
So I do meet some young gentlemen.
If someone greeted him, Mu Xu would naturally respond one by one.
But if the person didn't say hello and just said a few words to him and didn't recognize him, Mu Xu wouldn't care and would answer every question.
After staggering for a while, the chief priest, who was in a good mood today, finally arrived at the place where the masters of the Imperial College lived.
In the main house of the courtyard, there were Yao Yuanzai, Zhao Shi, and a middle-aged Confucian scholar.
When they saw Mu Xu, Yao Yuanzai and Zhao Shi looked at the wine and snacks in Mu Xu's hand and smiled.
The middle-aged scholar immediately stood up, stared at the teacher with white hair, bowed deeply, and said with trembling lips: "Student, hello teacher."
Mu Xu handed the wine and snacks to Yao Yuanzai and Zhao Shi, then helped up the college student whom he hadn't seen for almost seven or eight years and looked at him carefully.
So-called college students.
He was the first student that Mu Xu accepted and who actually performed the ceremony of becoming his apprentice.
He was 26 years old that year. Before he met the late emperor's long-term meal ticket, he read books all day in the Imperial College, trying his best to figure out how to ensure he would have a meal to eat, that is, how to not go hungry.
At this time, Mu Xu had actually been hungry for a day, but he had no money at all. He was too shy to ask his teacher for his classmates' meals, so he could only read books.
But there was a silly boy from the Xu family who was only five years old. He followed his father to the Imperial College. This silly boy named Xu Zuiyin saw Mu Xu reading a book, so he ate a snack in his hand and looked at Mu Xu stupidly.
Mu Xu was so greedy that he ate all the snacks of the silly boy.
The silly boy didn't do anything, just looked at Mu Xu and asked, "You read the book so seriously, the book is torn apart, and you have made so many annotations. You must be very knowledgeable! My father is looking for a teacher for me. Do you want to be one? I can let you eat a lot of food every day."
Mu Xu was tempted, but did not agree.
A few months later, Mu Xu saw the long-term meal ticket of the late emperor. He then borrowed some money from the late emperor, bought a decent set of clothes, and some snacks that Mu Xu usually didn't even dare to look at. After getting himself clean, he went to the Xu Mansion in the capital and expressed his desire to be the teacher of Xu Zuiyin, the youngest master of the Xu family at that time.
Mu Xu looked at his student and curled his lips: "Didn't you open a school at home to teach? How come he is so dark!"
Xu Zuiyin, the Confucian scholar who was described by Shuyalou as the contemporary "Poetry King", did not loosen his hands, as if he would keep bowing until his teacher spoke.
Seeing this, Mu Xu smiled and waved his hands: "Come on, come on, don't stand there like that. I spent a lot of money to entertain you today."
Xu Zuiyin then let go of his hand, looked at Mu Xu and said softly: "Teacher, you..."
As soon as he opened his mouth, Mu Xu immediately scolded him: "Come over here when I told you to. Stop giving me those sensational things. Have you forgotten that I hate this the most?!"
Yao Yuanzai, who had opened the wine jar, heard the scolding and laughed, "Zuiyin, come and sit down. You don't understand your teacher's temper."
Xu Zuiyin was stunned for a moment, looked at the teacher who seemed to have never changed, smiled lightly, and then took a seat as well.
There is no need for Mu Xu and Xu Zuiyin to take action.
Zhao Shi and Yao Yuanzai had already packed up everything and even set out the wine jugs and cups.
Mu Xu picked up the wine cup and smelled it, and said with emotion: "It's worthy of being the wine I bought. It smells so good. What's a good word? Refreshing, right?"
Yao Yuanzai immediately mocked, "How can it not be delicious? After two years, I finally get to drink your wine!"
Mu Xu glared at Yao Yuanzai, shook his head and said, “I’m ashamed to argue with you!”
Then, he suddenly thought of something and looked at Xu Zuiyin: "Zuiyin, do you know there is a saying in the chapter [Deer Singing]?"
Mu Xu didn't finish his words, but it was clear that Le Ji was the teacher testing his disciple.
But after all, they all mentioned the chapter "Deer Calling", so the answer was naturally clear, so he hurriedly said respectfully: "Wine will disturb the mind, so don't drink too much."
Mu Xu smiled and asked, "Then do you know why I wrote this sentence to warn the world?"
Xu Zuiyin said: "Wine makes people lose their temper and their mind disordered, so the master wrote this sentence to warn the world."
After saying this, Xu Zuiyin smiled and said, "But, I actually always knew that you wrote this because you couldn't afford to buy wine and couldn't bear to see others drink it."
Mu Xu drank the whole drink, then looked at Yao Yuanzai and Zhao Shi beside him and said, "Now you know why I like this guy! And what is a favorite student? This is it!"
After saying that, he looked at Xu Zuiyin who was smiling helplessly, and felt deeply moved. It turned out that the eldest disciple was the one who understood him the best, unlike Xun Kuang and those other bastards. What the hell!
Yao Yuanzai rolled his eyes at Mu Xu, then looked at Xu Zuiyin and ruthlessly exposed him, "Zuiyin, don't be fooled. Last time he was drinking with Xun Kuang, he said that Xun Kuang was his sweetheart."
Xu Zuiyin immediately laughed.
Mu Xu immediately glared at Yao Yuanzai: "You old man! I haven't seen my disciple for many years, what nonsense are you talking about! And Xun Kuang, that brat, did I say he is my favorite student? Pride and caring are two different things, do you understand?"
Yao Yuanzai did not refute, but just laughed with Zhao Shi.
Xu Zuiyin thought for a moment and said, "I remember that when the teacher drank Yucui Liu for the first time, he drank too much and vomited on the side of the road. He was so distressed when he woke up the next day that he almost cried."
Mu Xu took a sip of the wine in his glass, and then sighed, "I was so poor back then. It was the first time I saw wine being charged by the glass, and it was two cents per glass. I didn't spend my own money, so how could I not drink more? But then I thought, what the hell is this? It's so unpalatable. Can good wine make people vomit after drinking it?"
Yao Yuanzai was still rude and said, "So you later instigated His Royal Highness the King of Yue and Su Zifan to destroy the restaurant together, right?"
Mu Xu immediately said in a serious tone, "Yao Yuanzai, you can't say that. The restaurant itself was involved in some incidents and was closed down by the late emperor himself. And later on, it turned out that Yucui Liu was just fooling people. In the end, we are acting on behalf of the heaven."
Yao Yuanzai smiled and shook his head: "Yes, yes, I still remember that you were praised by the late emperor."
Mu Xu was proud: "Of course! The late emperor praised it himself. If you want to be praised, you must have the ability to do it!"
Zhao Shi ignored the two and looked at Xu Zuiyin: "I heard that everyone from the Wanli Chamber of Commerce went to the poetry gathering of the courtesan at the Shihua Pavilion today. Didn't Prime Minister Li give you an invitation?"
Xu Zuiyin smiled and said, "I did, but today the children from the Chamber of Commerce wanted to meet the fourth son of the Su family to facilitate business in the future, so I didn't go. I just wrote a poem for my family Lezhi to bring over to show his support."
Upon hearing this, Yao Yuanzai looked at Xu Zuiyin deeply, then looked at Mu Xu, but didn't say much.
Mu Xu, on the other hand, looked at Xu Zuiyin, thought for a moment and asked, "Le Zhi should be 22 this year, right?"
Xu Zuiyin nodded immediately: "Yes, he will be twenty-three in April. He is very naughty at home and doesn't like studying as much as his sister, so the elders at home threw him into the Chamber of Commerce to train him."
Mu Xu crushed a salted dried peanut shell with his fingers, put it in his mouth and said, "You are a grown man now, but you don't have the heart to study. If you follow scholars for a long time, you will also get some of the scholars' airs. Now Xun Kuang is busy with things, and Li Jiulang, Su Wenqing and other bastards are trying to get him out of the sect all day long. Yan Shu is also busy, taking care of his own affairs with Gu Chiyu and the Hanlin Academy. I am with your master's wife, and we need someone to serve tea and water and run errands. Ask Le Zhi to come over?"
Hearing this, Yao Yuanzai said nothing more and just took a sip of wine.
Xu Zuiyin looked at his teacher deeply, and after a moment of silence, he asked, "Teacher, does the emperor really want..."
When he said this, Xu Zuiyin stopped talking and just looked at Mu Xu.
Mu Xu looked at Xu Zuiyin, smiled and said, "Not bad, you guessed it right away, which is better than that time. At that time, you read the books of sages and were full of ambitions. You thought that you had read too many books, and you could be a person and an official just by following the sages. You didn't know at all that the books of sages were for reading, and they were useless for doing things. But you are good in one way, you are obedient! You listened to me, went to study, traveled around Daxia, and when you came back, you didn't clamor to be an official. You also told me that not all scholars are suitable for being officials. I was so relieved at that time. To be honest with you, I was worried about you back then. If you really became an official, what would I do? I would have to find a way to clean up your ass every few days. But fortunately you didn't become an official, otherwise you can see the situation in the past few years. People like you would be played with."
After that, Mu Xu took a sip of wine and glanced at Xu Zuiyin, who had a serious and anxious face. "You saw it, so it's going to be done. Don't ask us about the specifics. We saw the same thing as you did. Our emperor never tells anyone about his actions. He will only reveal a few words when it comes to the critical moment and he has to do something. Especially when it's none of your business, he will never tell anyone more."
At this point, Mu Xu picked up the peanuts and didn't eat them in a hurry. Instead, he looked at his students and said, "But there is one thing you should remember. Write to your elder brother and tell him that His Majesty asked Li Jiulang to arrange this matter. He is talking to you. If he can talk to you, it means there is a chance. If he doesn't talk to you, there is no way."
Xu Zuiyin thought about it carefully and then nodded.
On the other hand, Yao Yuanzai, who was honest by nature, asked directly: "Zuiyin, you came to the capital this time. Your elder brother told you to ask Mu Xu, right?"
Xu Zuiyin did not hide it and nodded, saying, "Before leaving, my eldest brother had this plan. I thought that although my lineage is not close to the main family and has been separated, this matter is not a big deal, so I agreed."
When Mu Xu heard this, he smiled and said, "You rascal, it's a good thing you didn't become an official! Otherwise, I would have died in your hands long ago!"
Yao Yuanzai and Zhao Shi smiled at each other, and then looked at Xu Zuiyin.
Zhao Shi said, "Hey, you, you can be called a master when it comes to reciting poems, writing couplets and annotating scriptures, but how can you not see such a small thing? And just now when your teacher mentioned Le Zhi's matter, you immediately thought that your teacher wanted to protect your lineage, why don't you see it now?"
Xu Zuiyin was stunned for a moment, looked at Zhao Shi, then at Yao Yuanzai and Mu Xu.
He noticed that the first two people had helpless expressions, but Mu Xu didn't seem to care at all. He just drank wine and ate peanuts, and even peeled several for himself and placed them in front of him.
After discovering that he was a very learned but unsuited disciple to be an official, Mu Xu smiled and said, "It's nothing. Don't listen to their nonsense. Even if you don't ask about this matter today, you have already fallen into the emperor's trap. I can't escape it anyway. So don't worry about it. Just write the letter to your elder brother as I said. But remember, tell him not to tell anyone. If he does, things will change."
After all, Xu Zuiyin was no longer the young man he once was. After thinking carefully for a while, his expression changed. He immediately stood up and bowed to Mu Xu: "Teacher, student."
Bang!
Just as Xu Zuiyin opened his mouth, Mu Xu slapped him on the back of the head and cursed, "You bastard! I told you it was okay, so you should just sit there quietly. Why are you asking questions when you don't understand? I came to see you, so you are still my student. No matter what you do, your teacher is here! Even if you make a huge mistake, I will take responsibility for it! You act like you did something wrong, so just sit there quietly!"
Xu Zuiyin frowned and looked at Mu Xu. Although he was in his forties, he still obediently sat on the stool and looked at Mu Xu.
Mu Xu didn't care. He smiled and said, "Since you came to the capital... No, no, it should be from the beginning. After all, even if you are gone, there is still Le Zhi. With your relationship with me, how can I not meet my disciple? So the emperor wanted me to get involved from the beginning. After all, I am the great Mu Xu, the chief priest. I have a great reputation in your southern literary world, especially in your aristocratic families. Over the years, many people have called me teacher when they see me. Even a few family heads treat me with respect. Isn't it!"
Xu Zuiyin looked at Mu Xu without saying a word, but was thinking about the relationship between them.
Yao Yuanzai couldn't stand it anymore and said with a smile, "Your teacher, in fact, the emperor has given an order, so he can't hide and has to do it. But the emperor's order for him to do it and he himself goes to the emperor to ask for it are two different things, especially for the aristocratic families in the south. If the emperor asks him to do it, it means he has to do it directly, and the children of the aristocratic families will inevitably panic and feel that they have no way out. But if Mu Xu says he wants to do it himself, then he still has room for maneuver, at least he has a way out."
"There is also a difference between resisting and not resisting. In short, the emperor wants your teacher to participate, but he cannot give orders directly to your teacher. In addition, he must make some people from the aristocratic families feel that your teacher wants to protect them and is willing to get involved in this matter. Therefore, there must be a process like this for your eldest brother and others to see, and then Mu Xu will get involved."
(End of this chapter)
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