The two drank for half the night and talked about some matters in the court. After returning from Lingwu Villa, their relationship became closer. Feng Ye did not easily mention things before, but under the clever inducement of wine and Yan Sikong, he also talked about a few things.
For example, what Yan Sikong wanted to know most was Feng Jianping's network of influence in the court. On the surface, Feng Jianping did not make friends with civil officials in the capital, because it was a taboo for officials in the capital to collude with military generals. He was already a powerful figure and was hated by the emperor, so he acted carefully in every way to avoid giving people a chance to criticize him. But if you say that Feng Jianping really kept to himself in the court, no one would believe it. Yan Sikong had already vaguely found out some things, and he wanted to verify more.
The fact that Feng Jianping was able to drive away three governors of Datong and ultimately hold military and political power was closely related to his invisible influence in the court.
Sure enough, during the conversation, Yan Sikong found out that Feng Jianping had a personal relationship with the Minister of Personnel Liu An, and had close relations with some officials of Nanzhili and Jiangnan aristocratic families.
Yan Sikong thought that if Feng Jianping could support Chen Yi, then Chen Yi's position as crown prince would be secure.
The reason why Xie Zhongren was able to do evil for twenty years was simply because he was a close companion of Emperor Zhaowu, assisted the emperor in his youth and was deeply favored. If he lost the emperor's favor, his party would quickly disintegrate.
To make Xie Zhongren lose the emperor's favor, either alienate him from the emperor, or... replace the emperor.
No matter which route he took, he would try to reach his destination as quickly as possible.
The two of them drank and talked for half the night, and Feng Ye fell asleep in the guest room.
Yan Sikong sat on the edge of the bed, looking at Feng Ye for a long time, and couldn't help but reach out his hand and gently stroke Feng Ye's perfect facial lines with his fingertips.
In fact, he is still a young boy who is ignorant of the world. Yan Sikong felt mixed emotions in his heart.
——
The next day, Yan Sikong woke up early and prepared breakfast himself.
He went to the guest room to wake Feng Ye up, but he got no response after calling him twice.
"Feng Ye?" Yan Sikong walked over, "Get up and eat."
Feng Ye neither moved nor said a word.
"Feng Ye?" Yan Sikong walked over and stretched out his hand to Feng Ye's shoulder.
His wrist was suddenly grabbed by a strong hand, and the next moment, he was thrown onto the bed and fell into Feng Ye's strong and warm arms.
"Haha!" Feng Ye used his hands and feet to hold him, laughing triumphantly.
Yan Sikong said helplessly: "You really act like a naughty child."
Feng Ye buried his face in his chest: "I asked you to sleep with me last night, where have you been?"
"Of course I'm going back to my room." Yan Sikong tried to push him away, "Hurry up, I've cooked."
"You?" Feng Ye was surprised, "You can also cook?"
"How difficult is that?"
"Where is your servant?"
"He's had a rash these days and has been hiding in his room to recover."
Feng Ye complained, "Why didn't you tell me earlier? I would have taken you to live in my house. You are a Hanlin after all. It's ok that you don't have a carriage when you travel, but you only have one servant in your house. How can it be so shabby?"
"My salary is meager. Besides, it won't affect anything. It's okay." Yan Sikong was a little flustered by Feng Ye's pressure. "Let me go."
"Not unless you come and live in my house."
"Nonsense, I'm living well here, get up quickly." Yan Sikong struggled hard.
He exerted his strength, which was not to be underestimated. The two of them started to compete on the bent wooden bed. The wood was not good to begin with, and it creaked with their movements. Feng Ye was a little annoyed by Yan Sikong's twisting body. He held Yan Sikong's wrists with one hand and whispered, "Don't move."
Yan Sikong really didn't dare to move, because he felt something hard and hot pressing against his legs.
Their eyes accidentally met, and the atmosphere became unusual for a moment.
Feng Ye slowly lowered his head, gently pressed his nose against Yan Sikong's nose, and whispered, "I want to kiss you."
Yan Sikong was so nervous that his abdomen ached. He slid his Adam's apple hard and said solemnly, "Feng Ye, let me go."
Feng Ye's deep and bright eyes stared at Yan Sikong's eyes without blinking, his eyelashes trembled slightly, and he actually looked somewhat innocent.
Yan Sikong emphasized: "Let me go."
Feng Ye curled his lips, let go of him in disappointment, and climbed up from the bed.
Yan Sikong rolled over and got out of bed, straightened his clothes, and said nonchalantly, "Get up and eat."
The Yan residence was simple, so the breakfast was naturally not very rich. Two bowls of porridge, three dishes of side dishes, and four meat buns were all on the table.
Feng Ye didn't care, he did it happily, and took a sniff: "Hmm, it smells good."
"Eat it quickly, or it will get cold."
Feng Ye picked up a plump, steaming bun and took a big bite. "Mm, this bun is really delicious. It's a bit like... the buns made by Blind Zhang that you took me to eat when I was a kid."
Yan Sikong's eyes lit up: "You still remember."
"Of course I remember, you said your whole family loved it and you took me to eat it."
Yan Sikong smiled and said, "Yes, when I was young and had nothing to do, I went to learn a few tricks from Blind Zhang. I can imitate some of the flavors, and it's already full of color, aroma and taste."
"I don't quite remember the taste, I just remember it was very fresh and delicious." Feng Ye ate the bun in a few bites, "Maybe one day, I can go back and savor it again."
A trace of sadness flashed across Yan Sikong's face: "I'm afraid he is no longer here."
Feng Ye quickly changed the subject: "Anything else? These are not enough for me."
"Eat as much as you want. There's plenty more in the kitchen."
——
After breakfast, Feng Ye wanted to invite a good doctor for Ali, but was rejected by Yan Sikong. He then asked Yan Sikong to go to his house, but was also rejected. However, Feng Ye agreed to accompany him to Chunyu Tower to listen to music tomorrow.
During the two or three days that Feng Ye was in Beijing, the two met almost every day. Gradually, many people knew that they were good friends, but Yan Sikong did not neglect friends such as Zhou Mixing and Liang Sui, and had a wide range of social contacts. In this way, outsiders only thought that he liked to make friends with young masters and celebrities, and would not think that his relationship with Feng Ye was particularly close.
After Feng Ye returned to Jingshan Camp, Ali also came back.
Seeing his calm and determined face, Yan Sikong knew that the mission was successfully completed, but he could not breathe a sigh of relief because a storm had just begun.
A month after Emperor Zhaowu's birthday, autumn had arrived in the capital. On Jingshan Mountain, the forests gradually changed color, with overlapping green and flowing gold, orange, yellow, vermilion and green covering the mountaintops. The colorful beauty created by the change of seasons was breathtaking. Feng Ye invited him to Lingwu Mountain Villa to enjoy the autumn.
Yan Sikong had originally agreed, but the day before the trip, he received the long-awaited news.
That day, he went to the Hanlin Academy as usual, but was called into the house by Yan Zilian with a stern face. Inside the house, Shen Hexuan had already been waiting beside him with a serious expression.
Yan Sikong realized something and said calmly, "Teacher, do you have any instructions?"
Yan Zilian looked at him sharply and asked, "Who wrote the eleven volumes of the New History?"
Yan Sikong thought for a moment and said, "Liu Zhaolin."
"Recheck, who are the three cores?"
"The reviewers are students, and the triple reviewers are..." Yan Sikong glanced at Shen Hexuan.
Wang Shengsheng presided over the revision of history this time. He selected the well-versed and well-informed Wenyuan Pavilion Academician Huo Li as the coordinator. Huo Li divided the Hanlin scholars into four groups. The newly promoted Hanlin scholar group was led by Shen Hexuan. Huo Li decided the bones and muscles of the new history and the years each group was responsible for, and the Hanlin scholars filled in the flesh and blood. The people who actually played a key review role were Yan Sikong and others. They would cross-examine the content of other people and other groups. Shen Hexuan could not read so many books alone, so he only did spot checks.
However, once there is a problem with the content, no one from top to bottom can be exempted from responsibility.
Shen Hexuan said in a deep voice: "Teacher, can you let me read Mr. Cai's memorial?"
Yan Sikong asked anxiously: "Teacher, what happened?"
"This is a memorial from Cai Zhongfan, the inspector of Qingyang. It was just delivered to the cabinet today. It should have been presented to the emperor today, but I put it on hold. However, it can only be kept on hold for one day. You can read it for yourselves." Yan Zilian threw a memorial to them.
Yan Sikong spread out his memorial, and Shen Hexuan also came over and read ten lines at a glance. Both of their faces changed.
"This..." Shen Hexuan's forehead was covered with sweat. He knelt on the ground with a pale face. "The student failed his job."
The memorial was written by Cai Zhongfan criticizing the serious error in the eleventh volume of the New History, in which "Zhaowu" was written as "Wu Zhao", which was malicious. Although this memorial was not an impeachment memorial, it was pointed directly at Wang Shengsheng and was already very sharp.
As everyone knows, Wu Zhao refers to Emperor Wu of Han and Emperor Zhao of Han. Emperor Wu of Han was originally wise and brave, and could be considered an emperor of all ages, but he was warlike and aggressive, which led to years of war and people's misery. He was an emperor with mixed reviews. The wrong part happened to be the period when Emperor Zhaowu gave up the seven states of Liaoning. The text praised Emperor Zhaowu for stopping war and ruling with military power, and for making far-sighted strategies for peace and happiness in the world. This was a world of difference from Emperor Wu of Han, who had a strong army and expanded the territory. The mistake here was not a satire on Emperor Zhaowu's weakness.
As for Emperor Zhao of Han, he was a short-lived emperor. He was about the same age as Emperor Zhaowu when they ascended the throne, both were eight years old. Under the murderous pen of Cai Zhongfan, he became a curse.
The mere word 'upside down' was used in such a fuss. The viciousness of this memorial is so chilling that it makes one's hair stand on end.
Yan Sikong also knelt down and said, "Teacher, this... this is just a typo. Even if Liu Zhaolin had a hundred courages, he wouldn't dare to make a mistake on purpose."
Yan Zilian slammed the table and said, "If it's wrong, it's wrong. And you, you haven't checked the error, so what excuses are you making?"
They both prostrated themselves on the ground, not daring to breathe.
The corners of Yan Sikong's mouth curled up into a faint smile that no one could see.
After a long silence, Yan Zilian said, "Cai Zhongfan had a deep personal grudge against Wang Shengsheng. He was originally the head of the Ministry of Personnel's Examination Department. Because he did not give Wang Shengsheng's trusted officials a pass in the examination, he was framed by Wang Shengsheng and was first demoted to a military officer. Later, he was sent to inspect Qingyang, a place with poor mountains and bad water. His career was ruined."
Yan Sikong had already found out the grudge between the two. The Ministry of Personnel's Gongkao Division was the most powerful of the six ministries, responsible for the promotion and appointment of officials throughout the country. To be the head of the Gongkao Division was to hold real power and be able to call the shots. The eunuch party had long coveted this position, and since Cai Zhongfan was not controlled by them, they simply designed to "exile" him to Qingyang.
Cai Zhongfan was extremely talented and had a strong temper. If he got the chance, he would fight Wang Shengsheng to the death. This was not the first time he had given advice to Wang Shengsheng.
This is exactly the kind of person Yan Sikong needs. Moreover, if he guessed correctly, this memorial was just the beginning. There would be memorials impeaching Wang Shengsheng to add fuel to the fire.
Shen Hexuan said: "Teacher, the students have made mistakes but are not guilty. They have no intention of mocking or cursing your majesty."
Yan Sikong also said: "Please ask the teacher to save the students."
Yan Zilian said, "Master Cai is targeting Wang Shengsheng, but the three of you, as well as Master Huo, will inevitably be implicated. This matter could be a big deal or a small one..." He sighed in frustration, "You guys are making it really difficult for me, your teacher."
Yan Sikong knew what Yan Zilian was thinking. Although Emperor Zhaowu did not care about state affairs and was only interested in pleasure, his greatest characteristic was that he was extremely proud. If he were a more magnanimous ruler, he might not care about a few typos, but he might not. This was a good opportunity to impeach Wang Shengsheng. Yan Zilian wanted to get rid of this thorn in his side and take over the power of the inner cabinet, but he was definitely reluctant to part with the two students he had just trained.
He believed that Yan Zilian would not miss the opportunity to get rid of Wang Shengsheng, and he also believed that Yan Zilian would not abandon the two of them easily. It all depended on how these scheming court officials would mediate.
Yan Sikong knew that he had taken this step a little too hastily and boldly, but the sword had taken an unfavorable approach and there was no danger of any disadvantage!