398, drunk
398, drunk
As the sun sets, the faint afterglow shines through the open window and onto the ground in front of it.
There are several small flower pots on the windowsill, and the green plants in the pots have lush green leaves and are full of vitality.
The owner of these green plants fell asleep on a recliner.
When Zhao Lang walked in from outside, he saw this scene: their Lord Lu was lying on the recliner in a relaxed posture, his hands crossed on his stomach, and he was sleeping soundly with his eyes closed.
When he got closer, he could still smell a faint smell of alcohol coming from Lord Lu.
[So he was drunk? That's rare. Looks like you had a lot of fun meeting your friends today, didn't you?] It's rare for their Lord Lu to get drunk.
When his sight fell from the young man's tightly closed eyes to his tall nose, Zhao Lang's hand reached out uncontrollably to touch his young man.
The tip of his finger gently touched the young man's eyebrows and moved down along the bridge of his nose.
Finally, when it landed on the young man's lips, his throat rolled up and down.
Just when he was about to retract his finger, the young man who he thought was asleep suddenly opened his mouth, bit his finger, slowly opened his eyes and looked at him.
There was still a hint of sleepiness in the young man's open eyes. As if he saw it was him, he gave him a very bright smile.
"Fairy!" Zhao Lang cursed softly, and could no longer bear it, so he lowered his head and blocked the young man's lips.
"Oh--"
A soft laugh escaped from the two people's lips that were pressed together.
Hearing this chuckle, Zhao Lang felt even more annoyed and deepened their kiss, preventing the young man under him from making any sound.
Passively accepting Zhao Lang's passion and kisses. After a while, Lu Mingfei put his arms around Zhao Lang's waist and pulled him down towards him.
The final position of the two people became that he was lying down and Zhao Lang was pressing on top of him.
But this person was probably afraid that he would be crushed if pressed down, so he supported his body with one hand and did not put all his weight on him.
This posture made Zhao Lang feel very uncomfortable. He reached out to pull the young man up and carried him horizontally to the bed not far away.
Soon, low and ambiguous sounds were heard in the room.
The guards and secret guards around were very tactful and stayed away a little, not wanting to eavesdrop on the two masters in the room.
Even though they were a little further away, they still formed a circle around the courtyard where their masters were, protecting the two masters in the middle. Even if a mosquito flew over, it would be exposed under their eyes.
…
The last bit of afterglow in the west disappeared and it was getting dark.
After a long time, the owner of the house called for water.
Guard Ma, who was also the part-time manager of the inner courtyard, personally led people into the room to deliver a bathtub and hot water. After delivering them, he quickly led the people out.
When Lu Mingfei and Zhao Lang finished washing up in the house and came out, their dinner was already on the table outside.
The two sat down around the table and ate.
Zhao Lang put a peeled shrimp into Lord Lu's bowl and asked casually, "Did you go to meet friends today?"
"Well, Ling Xuan and Zhuo Ran have returned to Beijing. I went to meet them today. I had a few drinks with them and accidentally got drunk." Lu Mingfei knew at a glance that Zhao Lang was asking this question even though he knew the answer.
Zhao Lang had met Zhang Lingxuan and Ye Zhuoran a few years ago, and he was also familiar with Lu Mingfei's close friends.
"How do you plan to arrange for the two of them?" Zhao Lang has never objected to Lu Mingfei's arrangement of people in the court.
He even gave Lu Mingfei complete authority, allowing him to place his people in the six departments. To be more precise, those who were placed there were all Lu Mingfei's people.
However, he never had any doubts about anything Lu Mingfei did.
Because Zhao Lang himself knew that if Lu Mingfei hadn't been by his side, he wouldn't have been able to get to where he is now on his own. Even if he became emperor in the future, half of the throne would belong to Lu Mingfei.
Lu Mingfei didn't know what Zhao Lang was thinking at the moment. He just spoke truthfully about the arrangements for his two friends, "Zhuoran plans to participate in this year's provincial examination. If nothing unexpected happens, he will be able to pass the palace examination."
If the coronation ceremony goes smoothly, the new emperor Zhao Lang will be the one sitting in the hall to supervise the palace examination next year.
Lu Mingfei looked at the person sitting next to him and said to the future emperor, "When the time comes, you don't have to give him a break just for my sake."
"Don't you want me to give him the top spot in the imperial examination?" Zhao Lang asked with a smile.
"If he has this level, there is no problem if he chooses him as the No. 1 pick.
However, if his level is not good enough to convince the public, then if you appoint him as the top scholar, it will only damage the emperor's reputation and the scholars' trust in the court. Lu Mingfei's words were not meant to help anyone, but were spoken from the perspective of a scholar.
"I myself rose through the ranks through the imperial examinations. The imperial examination is one of the few fair paths for children from humble backgrounds. If the imperial examinations aren't fair, then what else can scholars look forward to? Don't you agree?"
"Okay, I understand what you mean." Zhao Lang nodded and gave up the idea of giving Ye Zhuoran some slack.
"As for Ling Xuan, if used well, he will be a sharp sword in your hand." Having said this, Lu Mingfei paused for a moment before continuing, "From now on, military power must be in our hands."
"So, I plan to assign Ling Xuan to the Ministry of War and have him go deep into the Ministry to complete our reforms. Let the local military and political affairs submit to the court and obey the court's command."
Zhao Lang nodded. He also knew the importance of their control over military power in the current situation.
The two then had an in-depth conversation on the issue of military power and the reform of the Ministry of War.
After the meal, they still hadn't finished talking about this topic.
After the food on the table was cleared away, the two moved to the soft couch and chatted while playing chess.
Because he slept more during the day, Lu Mingfei was not sleepy at night.
However, he knew that Zhao Lang had been busy all day, so later in the evening, he accompanied Zhao Lang back to the house to rest.
***
On the first day back in Beijing, Zhang Lingxuan returned home and had a reunion dinner with his parents and brothers. Then he went to the study to talk with his father and two brothers.
After chatting with his father and brothers about his years as a local official, he mentioned that he and Ye Zhuoran were sworn brothers.
When Zhang's father heard that his most promising son was a homosexual, he looked at him in shock and said, "No wonder, when we tried to find you a partner, you refused!"
Brother Zhang (eldest brother) and Brother Zhang (second brother) also looked at their younger brother who was an official in shock.
Zhang Lingxuan looked at his father and two brothers and said, "Father, the Zhang family should not need a son like me to carry on the family line. I have no plans to marry or have children."
"I have liked Zhuoran since I was a child. I was the one who provoked him. I promised him that I would spend the rest of my life with him alone. So, please accept our relationship, father."
"No, I won't agree to this. You must find me a wife and at least give me a son!" Zhang's father objected.
"Father, I'm telling you this not to ask for your consent." Zhang Lingxuan said in a light tone.
His feelings towards his father were particularly complicated. He knew from childhood that his father had countless wives and concubines, a fact that his mother would secretly cry about in the house. At that time, he vowed to himself that he would only love one person and spend his life with only one person, and would never be like his father, who fell in love with every woman he met and took her in.
Although they were father and son, the relationship between them was not very close. Zhang Lingxuan also could not feel close to this sentimental father.
It’s just that as children, we must show due respect to our father.
In the past, he might have been afraid of conflicting with his father and making him unhappy, but now he no longer had anything to fear.
Zhang Lingxuan looked at his father, whose temples were already gray, and said, "Father, I'm sure you know that Mingfei is now the Minister of Revenue."
"With Ming Fei's relationship, I can't say I'll rise to the top in the future, but I'm sure I won't be too bad in the officialdom."
"Father, as long as you promise me and Zhuoran that you won't make things difficult for him, I wouldn't mind helping any of the Zhang family's children if they have a bright future."
"Big Brother, Second Brother, I can promise you this today, right in front of you. We are brothers. As long as your descendants have the ability, I will definitely help them."
Looking at his two brothers who were sitting there silently, Zhang Lingxuan made a promise to them: as long as you help me today, I will definitely help my nephew in the future. It all depends on whether you two can behave like human beings today.
Zhang immediately understood what his younger brother meant. His younger brother's love for men and his desire to spend his life with one man were far more important than his younger brother's willingness to support his descendants and ensure their success.
"Father, since my third brother has made up his mind, in my opinion, you might as well... agree to it." Without any hesitation, eldest brother Zhang helped his younger brother persuade their father.
Seeing that his elder brothers had spoken up for their younger brother, Zhang Erge also hurried to help his younger brother persuade his father to agree.
Father Zhang's face looked grim.
But after thinking about it for a moment, he could no longer tell which was more important. Moreover, as a man, he knew that feelings could change.
He once liked his first wife and the concubines in the backyard, but in the end he fell in love with each of them.
So, judging by his own experience, Zhang's father felt that his third son's feelings for the Ye family boy would eventually change. So what if he agreed to it right away? Who knows, maybe in the future, without them having to make a move, his son would be willing to marry and have children on his own.
"Okay, I can promise you that I won't make things difficult for him. But you have to live back home." However, he also made a request, which was to ask his third son, who said he had moved out to live, to move back home.
"There are too many people at home. It might not be convenient for Zhuoran and I to live here." Zhang Lingxuan looked at his father's expression and knew what his father was thinking.
As for his father's request that he move back home, he did not agree.
In the end, the father and son parted ways unhappily.
Zhang Lingxuan ignored his father's cold face and unhappiness. He left the house with his two brothers seeing him off. He took a carriage to the Ye family next door and picked up Ye Zhuoran to take him back to the house they had settled outside.
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