When Lord Xu woke up, he found himself back in his residence.

Jin Yuanpan, the judge of the Imperial Medical Bureau, was pulling out the golden needles from his face one by one.

"Grandpa, you're awake." Xu Yuanchun looked at Lord Xu, whose head was like a hedgehog, with full of worry.

"..."Xu Jie turned a deaf ear and just stared at the ceiling of the tent, as if this world had nothing to do with him.

"Doctor Jin, can't my grandfather hear me?" Xu Yuanchun asked worriedly.

Jin Yuanpan shook his head and said vaguely: "Young Master, the elder needs quiet."

"Oh." Xu Yuanchun understood.

After Judge Jin collected the needles and left, Xu Yuanchun also said softly, "Grandpa, have a good sleep."

"Go home." Xu Jie said in a hoarse voice: "Let's go now..."

"Doctor Jin said that grandpa's illness was caused by anger and emotions. You should stay in bed and rest as much as possible and don't move." Xu Yuanchun reminded in a low voice.

"Let's go!" Xu Jie slammed the bed and refused to allow any discussion.

"Okay, Grandpa, don't worry, I will arrange it right away." Xu Yuanchun wiped away his tears and hurried out to order people to prepare the sedan chair.

Three cabinet members and Teng Xiang were also in the courtyard. After asking about the situation, Zhang Juzheng reminded them in a deep voice: "We can't carry a sedan chair. We need a sedan chair."

The sedan chair is a chair with two poles. It's not that Xu Ge Lao couldn't afford a sedan chair, but the rules of the Forbidden City were strict and officials could only walk. Riding in a sedan chair was a favor from the emperor to the elders.

Lord Xu looks half dead now. Should he be carried out on a sedan chair for exhibition?

Teng Xiang also said enthusiastically: "The Imperial Household Department has a sedan chair!"

He ordered the eunuchs to quickly remove the seats of the sedan chair he took when leaving the palace, cover it with a mattress, and then carry it over.

After a lot of hard work, the sedan chair was ready. The four of them told Xu Yuanchun to take good care of the Prime Minister and then left.

I guess he just wants to be alone and doesn't want to see any of them.

Xu Yuanchun and his attendant carried Lord Xu out with a blanket on their back, settled him in the sedan chair, and then left the palace...

At this time, it was less than three hours since Lord Xu entered the palace, and it was just lunch time.

From afar, I watched the elder's sedan chair disappear in the direction of Donghuamen.

The three university scholars all breathed a sigh of relief.

Even people like Teng Xiang knew that Xu Ge Lao's career as prime minister would basically come to an end today.

"Alas, what a misfortune." Eunuch Teng flicked his whisk, bowed to the three scholars and said, "I will rely on you from now on."

The three of them smiled bitterly and did not respond.

How should I respond? I can't laugh out loud, right?

~~

West Chang'an Avenue, Prime Minister's Residence.

The sun is shining brightly today, and Xu Fan has finally come out of the shadows.

Although there were bruises on his face, he was smiling.

Ji also breathed a sigh of relief and ordered her servants to set up the dining table in the courtyard. She and her husband enjoyed the long-lost leisure time with the sound of birds singing, flowers blooming and water gurgling.

"Come on, ma'am, let's do it."

The young cabinet minister held up the wine glass, clinked it lightly with Ji's, and said apologetically: "I have not been feeling well recently. Thank you Madam for your support."

"Oh, forget it, it's all in the past. Don't make enemies with others in the future." Madam Ji stopped arguing with him and said, twirling her wine glass, "They say 'harmony brings wealth', it's absolutely true. How good would it be if you didn't hold that anger?"

"Why are you bringing that up again?!" Xu Fan was displeased when he heard this. He put down his wine glass heavily and said unhappily, "Did I provoke them?"

“Isn’t it?!” Mrs. Ji’s face also darkened.

Just as the two were about to start arguing again, they heard a noise coming from the back door.

The couple looked in the direction of the sound and saw the group of people who had entered the palace with Lord Xu in the morning, coming back dejectedly, carrying a large sedan chair.

Xu Yuanchun also followed beside him, looking very sad.

"What's wrong?!" The couple quickly stood up to greet him. "You're back so soon?"

"Grandpa, he..." Xu Yuanchun's tears started streaming down.

"Ah!" Xu Fan's eyes went dark, wondering what happened to the old man.

Fortunately, the attendant was smart enough to step forward and whisper the situation.

Of course, he had no way of knowing about the impeachment letter from the second master.

"Oh, it's okay, it's okay..." Hearing that the old man had just fainted, the young minister breathed a sigh of relief and glared at Xu Yuanchun fiercely.

"I thought something was wrong, wait till I see how I deal with you!"

After quickly carrying Lord Xu into the bedroom and settling him down, Xu Fan came out with a dark face and looked at Xu Yuanchun coldly.

Xu Yuanchun couldn't help but shiver, and his butt began to ache slightly.

"What's going on?!" the young elder asked in a low voice, "He was fine when he went out!"

"It's Second Grandfather..."

"Second Uncle? What happened to him?!"

Xu Yuanchun quickly told his father what he had seen and heard.

After hearing this, the young minister's eyes went dark again, his face changed several times before he regained his balance. He quickly pulled out a feather duster and roared, "I'll beat you to death, you bastard!"

Xu Yuanchun was so frightened that he squatted on the ground with his head in his hands. It took him a while to realize that his father was not hitting him, but a painting called "Xiyuan Xiaxia" hanging on the wall.

The painting above shows Lord Xu enjoying family happiness with his children at home when he was in mourning.

The most prominent position in the painting is the figures of the brothers Xu Jie and Xu Zhi sitting on the Luohan Mountain, leisurely playing chess.

Xu Fan used the feather duster to hit Xu Zhi's portrait more than ten times, smashing it to pieces. Of course, he also accidentally injured someone, and even smashed Xu Zhi's face.

~~

Lord Xu lay there for three days and three nights without eating a single grain of rice or drinking a single drop of water... He finally became too thirsty and drank some water from his son's arms.

"Don't be too sad, father. There may be some misunderstanding here." Xu Fan comforted his father softly.

In just three days, the once ruddy-faced and energetic Lord Xu already had sunken eyes and a haggard appearance.

Now people would believe if someone said he was eighty years old.

"There is no misunderstanding. He has been holding a grudge against me all his life." A turbid tear rolled out of Xu Jie's left eye socket, and he murmured, "This little brother of mine is better at studying than me, but he has been spoiled by your grandmother since he was young. He cannot stand any loss."

"In the 26th year of Jiajing, your second uncle went to Beijing to take the imperial examination. The examiner at that time was my close friend and fellow townsman Sun Yizhai, so I hoped that he could take the exam three years later."

Xu Fan nodded. Sun Yizhai was Sun Chengen, who served as the Minister of Rites. Not only was he closely related to the Xu family, but the two families were also related by marriage.

At that time, my father had just ended years of wandering and was promoted back to Beijing by Prime Minister Xia Yan.

At that time, the struggle between Xia Yan and Yan Song had reached a fever pitch, and any mistake would make them victims of the political struggle again.

Therefore, given my father's cautious character, it is completely understandable that he does not want to cause trouble.

In fact, several years later, the court decided to appoint Xu Fan as the prefect of Changsha, and the Ministry of Personnel issued a letter of appointment. However, Xu Ge Lao refused and asked the court to arrange for him to take up an idle position in Beijing.

But Xu Fan could understand his father, but Xu Zhi could not understand his brother...

"Your second uncle disagreed and insisted on taking part in the exam. He ended up ranking 50th in the second class. It's a good ranking, but he was arrogant and always thought he had the talent to be the top scorer. Later, I heard from somewhere that he originally ranked fifth, but it was his father who instructed Sun Yizhai to knock him down to outside the top 50 to avoid suspicion."

"As a result, he blamed me for his failure to be selected as a Shujishi, thinking that I was jealous of him and was afraid that he would win the palace examination, so I had his ranking lowered. At that time, he made trouble with me all day long, forcing me to repeatedly promise that I would help him get a good official position after the observation of politics was over. Only then did he calm down a little."

"Who would have thought that the next year, my mentor Xia Guixi was brutally executed. As his mentor's beloved disciple, I was also in deep danger. Your second uncle was somewhat implicated and was assigned to the Nanjing Pedestrian Division, a place that no one would want to go to." Xu Jie sighed and said:

"He completely hated me now. He went home and cried to my mother, causing her to become seriously ill. He even wrote a letter to me, calling me worse than a beast..."

ps: Friendly reminder: At that time, the title of "Section Chief" was actually written randomly. Let's put it this way. The words and expressions I used in the dialogues between the characters were carefully considered. Before you find it strange, you may want to check it on Baidu first. Well, if Baidu can't find it, I won't use it.