Chapter 111: Age

In Yanshou Hall, the charcoal basin burned as warm as spring, the black agarwood rose slowly in the Boshan stove, and the maids ran around to place the utensils for the New Year's Eve dinner. Old Madam Ming was surrounded by her granddaughters and daughters-in-law. She slowly glanced across the main hall, frowned, and asked, "Where is Erlang?"

The room fell silent, and Duke Zhenguo replied, "They have to make a final decision in Jingzhao Prefecture in the next few days, and they also have to coordinate with Yu Shitai. I guess he is busy with the case."

Madam Ming frowned and said, "He has been busy for a year. We hardly see him on weekdays. Now that the court has finally had a holiday, can't he even spare the time to have a New Year's Eve dinner?"

In his heart, Duke Zhenguo also felt that Ming Huazhang was too focused on his official duties. It was not that he neglected his family, but he was worried that he would get into trouble. However, facing Old Lady Ming and the second and third wives, Duke Zhenguo still protected his child: "He just went to Jingzhao Prefecture and has a lot to learn. His superiors can take leave, but he dare not neglect it."

This statement may be used to scare others, but the second and third wives would not believe it. Uncle Ming said, "I heard that Erlang rejected the case decided by Jingzhao Yin, and now he is working closely with the Procuratorate?"

The Duke of Zhenguo naturally knew all these things. He did not approve of Ming Huazhang's recklessness, but a newborn ox is not afraid of a tiger. This child was like a sword drawn from its sheath, his edge was immediately revealed and he was full of determination.

Even though the Duke of Zhenguo disagreed, he still defended him in front of outsiders, saying, "He was responsible for the case. He has been a serious child since he was young and cannot tolerate any carelessness. This is also true when he enters the officialdom."

Seeing the Duke of Zhenguo speaking for the child, the Second Lady of Ming understood how he could have spoiled Ming Huashang like that. With such a good family background, she was like an unenlightened child, running outside all day long. The Old Lady of Ming didn't care about the household affairs, and the Duke of Zhenguo just let her do whatever she wanted. The Second Lady of Ming wanted to see what kind of family Ming Huashang could find in the future.

Madam Ming snorted and said, "I didn't agree with him going to Jingzhao Prefecture from the beginning. If he went to Hongwenguan, he would just enjoy a peaceful and quiet life now, and why would he care about these trivial matters? As a father, you don't care about anything, and you make me a bad person."

Duke Zhenguo smiled apologetically, not daring to contradict his mother. Old Madam Ming glanced at him and asked with a gloomy face, "Where is Second Mother? Why is Second Mother not here?"

Everyone looked around, but Ming Huashang was nowhere to be found. Mrs. Ming San said leisurely, "Second Mother might be with Erlang. They have a good relationship and stay together all day. During the New Year, they are still playing house by themselves like when they were little."

Duke Zhenguo was embarrassed and turned to his attendant and said, "The elders are waiting. Go and call the Second Young Master and the Second Young Lady over."

At this moment, Ming Huashang and Ming Huazhang were walking towards Yanshou Hall together. Ming Huazhang stretched out his hand to block the red plum branch, and Ming Huashang passed under it and asked, "Second brother, how do you want to judge this case?"

"Lu Du's crime is easy to judge, and he will be executed in the autumn. On the contrary, the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple are still arguing about what crime the Pudu Temple should be punished for." Ming Huazhang said, "The abbot did not participate in the murder, but whether it is considered as shielding if he knew about it but did not report it is different from the vice ministers of the Ministry of Justice. Some people say that Buddhist temples are places outside the world, and the abbots should not take the initiative to disclose the private affairs of pilgrims, but when the government asks, they should tell the truth; others say that since the Buddhist temple was built on the territory of the Great Zhou, it should abide by the laws and regulations of the Great Zhou, and the abbot of the Pudu Temple should be strictly governed to serve as a warning to others."

Ming Huashang raised her eyebrows and asked, "What do you think, brother?"

Ming Huazhang's eyes were cold and deep. He said, "I think that how to punish the abbot of Pudu Temple is secondary. The real problem facing the court is much more serious than this. Buddhist temples have expanded and annexed land. Now they have occupied a lot of wealth, but they don't have to pay taxes to the court. Many farmers can get rid of the court's control by shaving their heads and joining Buddhism. From then on, they don't work and concentrate on chanting Buddha. If this continues, it will become a disaster."

Ming Huashang agreed with this. No matter if it was a temple or a nunnery, the land they occupied did not need to pay tribute to the court. There were also countless princes and princesses who rushed to donate money to the Buddha. Buddhist temples had their own financial resources, so why should they listen to the court?

Now it is only financial independence, and when they reach a certain scale, they will certainly extend to the political arena. By then, will it be the court of the Great Zhou or the court of Buddhism?

This topic involved a lot of things, so Ming Huashang didn't discuss it in depth. She asked, "What did Yu Shitai say?"

Ming Huazhang snorted softly, as if he had some complaints: "They are very cunning, just waiting for the Ministry of Justice and Jingzhao Prefecture to do something, and then they will jump out and find fault. They will not express their opinions until the matter is clear."

"The top scholar Su is in Yushitai. Didn't he tell you about it?"

Ming Huazhang turned his head and looked at Ming Huachang intently, his eyes as clear as ice and bottomless: "Why do you trust him so much?"

Some even called him "Su Zhuangyuan". The imperial examinations have been over for a long time, what is there to read in the almanac?

Ming Huachang smiled dryly and thought that she was careless. She knew that Su Xingzhi was her brother, so she trusted him from the bottom of her heart. However, to Ming Huazhang, he was just a colleague who she had met a few times and with whom she had a conflict of authority.

Don't panic, let her think about how to make excuses. Ming Huashang said: "I saw that Su Zhuangyuan has a noble character and is not afraid of the powerful, so I thought that maybe I could win him over. He should not succumb to the court factional struggle. But this is also what I think, of course, second brother should be more cautious."

A person of high moral character? Not afraid of the powerful? Ming Huazhang kept silent, his face growing colder.

Ming Huashang carefully looked at Ming Huazhang's expression, and was just thinking about whether to make amends, when she bumped into a servant. The servant saw them and hurriedly said, "Second Young Master, Second Lady, why did you come just now? Everyone else has arrived, and the old lady has been waiting for a long time and is very unhappy. The Duke asked me to remind you to say a few soft words to the old lady after you go in. If the old lady is still angry, you should be patient for the time being. It's New Year's Day, and harmony is the most valuable. The Duke will compensate you later."

Duke Zhenguo has been doing this for a long time. Old Madam Ming has become more and more arbitrary and tyrannical as she gets older. Duke Zhenguo can't do anything to his mother, so he can only talk to both sides and compensate his children more in private. It can be said that the fact that Ming Huazhang and Ming Huashang have grown into their current personalities without the care of their mother is inseparable from Duke Zhenguo.

Ming Huazhang and Ming Huashang stopped talking and quickened their pace to Yanshou Hall. As soon as they entered, they saw the hall was filled with gold and jade, and the warm fragrance filled their noses. Ming Huashang followed behind Ming Huazhang, bowed and greeted, and lowered her head to listen to her grandmother's teachings.

Ming Huashang knew very early that she should not explain when her elders were talking to her, let alone refute them. They could say whatever they wanted, because she would not listen anyway. Old Madam Ming gave each of them fifty strokes of the cane, and her anger finally subsided. Seeing this, the Duke of Zhenguo said, "Mother, it is not appropriate to get angry on such a good day. The New Year's Eve dinner is ready, let's go eat first."

Madam Ming condescended to say yes, and Duke Zhenguo hurried forward to help Madam Ming walk to the dining hall. The maids and female relatives closely protected Madam Ming, while Ming Huashang and Ming Huazhang stepped back to make way for Grandmother.

When they passed by the brother and sister on the Zhenguo Highway, he winked at Ming Huashang secretly. Ming Huashang curled her lips to indicate that she understood.

Soon everyone left, and only the siblings were left in the room. Ming Huashang raised his head and glanced at Ming Huazhang. The two of them looked like children who had made a mistake and were punished to stand. They smiled at each other, which was both tragic and funny.

The two of them were very aware of their mistakes, and they sat quietly at the end of the crowd, listening to their grandmother and uncles talk without saying a word. After dinner, Mrs. Ming was surrounded by people to stay up all night, and Ming Huashang was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief, quietly slipped to the outer hall, and sat down to wait for the New Year to come.

There was laughter and chatter inside, and the main hall seemed too quiet in comparison. Ming Huashang was staring at the night sky outside the window in a trance, when suddenly she felt a weight on her shoulders, and a black cloak fell from her body.

Ming Huashang turned around and saw Ming Huazhang standing behind her, carefully tying her belt for her: "It's cold by the window, be careful not to catch a cold."

Ming Huashang couldn't help but defend herself: "I'm not that weak, second brother, don't bother me."

Ming Huazhang tied the string and sat on the couch, saying, "It's always better to be careful. What are you looking at?"

"Look at the stars." Ming Huashang said, stretching out her hand and pointing to the sky, "Look, the stars are so bright."

"That's the North Star." Ming Huazhang also looked up at the sky and said, "The Purple Palace is so bright, it seems that the world has met a wise ruler."

No one took up the topic. The empress was declining. How long could her Purple Star shine over the nine states? Where would the next Purple Star be? Ming Huashang paused, pointed to the other side, and said, "What is this star?"

Ming Huazhang looked at the sky and pointed out the stars to Ming Huachang one by one. The brother and sister leaned against the window and looked at the stars. Before they knew it, it was almost midnight. Fireworks rose in the night sky, exploded in the air, and the stream of light fell like rain.

This was like a signal. Fireworks were set off all over Chang'an, and fireworks and lanterns were lit up. The stars in the sky could no longer be distinguished.

The servants of the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion were also moving firecrackers. Ming Huashang stood up and said excitedly, "They are going to set off fireworks. Let's go out and take a look!"

Ming Huazhang was somewhat helpless. He was so old, but he was still acting like a child. He was just a step slower, and Ming Huashang had already run outside, asked the servant for a firecracker stick, and lit it in the corridor.

The fire flashed, and silver sparks burst out like meteors, illuminating her eyes. Ming Huachang was startled and instinctively wanted to move away. She was probably the type of person who was both naive and playful. Ming Huazhang sighed, walked over from behind, and took the firework stick from her hand.

Ming Huazhang's hands were steady, keeping a distance that would allow her to see the light clearly and feel at ease. Ming Huachang felt at ease, her eyes bright, and she watched the fireworks burn quietly.

The silver sparks became smaller and smaller, and finally turned into embers and returned to darkness. She blinked, and the dazzling silver flowers withered, and she saw Ming Huazhang.

He was tall and straight, with calm eyes and eyebrows. Standing in the corridor, he seemed to be more eye-catching than the fireworks in the sky behind him. Ming Huazhang put away the burning fire stick and turned around to ask her, "What else do you want to see?"

Ming Huashang looked at him, lost in thought for a moment. When she came to her senses, she lowered her eyes as if to cover up and said, "Happy New Year, second brother."

There were deafening sounds of firecrackers all around, countless fireworks exploded in the sky, and the servants of the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion were shouting about moving things. Her voice was lost in the torrent of sound, as light as a feather. But Ming Huazhang heard it somehow. He rubbed Ming Huashang's head, took out a sugar man from behind like a magic trick, and said, "Congratulations, Shangshang, you're one year older."

Every New Year's Eve, he would bring Ming Huashang a piece of gum glutinous rice dumpling. This year, they stayed together all the time, and Ming Huashang thought he had forgotten, but he actually prepared it secretly. Ming Huashang pouted, snorted proudly, and said, "I'm not a child anymore, I don't need candy."

Ming Huazhang smiled and said, "Why aren't you a child? When you were six years old and had your teeth replaced, you ate a piece of gum and kept choking on it. Then you opened your mouth and spat out a tooth. You were so scared that you started crying. Don't you remember it now?"

"It happened so long ago, who would still remember it?" Ming Huashang retorted angrily, and couldn't help but take the candy man. "Maybe there's something wrong with the glutinous rice candy you brought."

As he was speaking, Ming Huashang accidentally bit the tip of his tongue and hissed in pain. Ming Huazhang was startled and leaned over to ask, "What's wrong?"

Ming Huashang covered her mouth and shook her head, mumbling, "It's okay, I bit my tongue."

Ming Huazhang was relieved, but he felt helpless inside. He joked, "I thought you had your teeth stuck out again."

Ming Huashang hit him angrily, but Ming Huazhang did not hide. He turned his back to the sky full of fireworks, with a smile on his face, his eyes like a clear spring, looking at her.

Normally, even when he laughed, his smile was restrained and gentlemanly. This was the first time he showed such an unabashed expression, with a mixture of the mischievousness of a teenager and an indomitable aggressiveness.

Ming Huachang felt as if something tapped gently in the heart, and the glutinous rice sugar flowed down the tip of her tongue and seeped into her internal organs, making her whole body float up.

In fact, she remembered what happened when she was six years old. She also remembered that when she burst into tears, Ming Huazhang stood beside her helplessly, and really thought that he was the one who caused his sister to lose her teeth.

This was the first time she saw her brother, who was described as perfect by the elders, actually have an ordinary expression.

When they were little, the two children cried loudly and were helpless, fearing that their teeth would never grow. Now they are seventeen years old and will never make such a ridiculous mistake again, but he will still bring her a piece of gummies.

Time flies, many things are different, but it seems that some things have never changed.