The second day.
After retreating from the court, Yingping walked towards Qinzheng Hall. He was in a very good mood today. There were many voices of opposition in the court before, but as time went by, the voices of opposition gradually disappeared. Faced with this situation, Yingping felt that he was in control of the overall situation. After experiencing the difficulties at the beginning of his administration, Yingping has gradually improved, and now he is even secretly planning for the future.
When Yingping stepped into the Qinzheng Hall humming a little tune, he suddenly froze. He looked at the man standing in the hall with some confusion, and then counted the days in his mind to make sure that he had indeed remembered the days correctly. , looked up at that person again.
The man was originally standing in the hall waiting for the Holy Master. After sensing Yingping's arrival, he saw Yingping stunned at the door of the hall, so he took the initiative to greet him——
“Long live my emperor, long live long live—”
Yingping saw that Wang Yanqing seemed to be waiting for him here intentionally, and he couldn't help but murmur in his heart, but he still kept a smile on his face and did not forget to reach out to help him.
"Today is not a day for political discussions, so why are you here? Could it be that you want to chat with me about home affairs?"
After saying that, Yingping turned around and shouted to Chen Jinjue: "Quickly--quickly go and bring a stool for Uncle Guo--"
Chen Jinjue quickly ordered the young eunuch to show Wang Yanqing his seat.
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for giving me a seat——"
After Wang Yanqing sat down, Yingping took the lead and asked before he could speak first: "Uncle Guo, how is Mr. Wang's health?"
"Sigh...my father has been bedridden all year round. I'm afraid...that he might chase after the late emperor at any time..."
Mr. Wang has been bedridden for a long time in the past two years. Although he is not seriously ill, he cannot take care of himself after all. Mr. Wang was an important minister of the previous dynasty, and he was highly respected in the dynasty. Although Yingping had not worked with him, his famous name Yingping had long been heard of. As a newly enthroned emperor, he naturally had to pay more attention to the heroes of the previous dynasty.
"Then uncle Guo should spend more time with Mr. Lao. Oh, by the way, I will take the time to visit Mr. Lao at his house someday."
"The Emperor is so gracious! I would like to express my gratitude to the Lord for my father's kindness!"
After a while of greetings, the two fell into silence. When Wang Yanqing saw Yingping sitting in front of the case, occasionally picking up the memorial and reading it without paying attention to himself, he found a gap and said: "Your Majesty, I have something important to ask you today. Play, I hope your Majesty will make it clear."
Yingping was slightly startled. Wang Yanqing's tone made him a little uncomfortable. Is there something important that your Majesty would like to express to you? Usually, the real 'important matters' are all decided by Wang Yanqing himself. If it involves the promotion of officials, he can only say hello to Yin Jingting, who is also the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. As for him, the emperor? snort--
"Uncle, please speak." Yingping looked at Wang Yanqing suspiciously.
"Well... Sun Guoqi, the Minister of Rites, is very old and will retire and return to his hometown soon. Nowadays, most of the affairs in the ministry are presided over by the minister. If Sun Shangshu resigns... I hope the Holy One will decide on the successor as soon as possible. .”
Yingping looked at Wang Yanqing who was bowing in front of the case without saying anything for a long time. An unrealistic feeling filled his heart. Is the sun rising in the west? What is Wang Yanqing planning to do? Doubts and vigilance flashed across Yingping's eyes, and he showed courtesy for nothing - either adultery or theft.
Yingping quickly returned to his previous calm demeanor, and then asked calmly: "Well, my uncle is very worried about... The Ministry of Rites is in charge of ceremonial affairs, and is also in charge of imperial studies and imperial examinations. It is not unimportant..."
Yingping pretended to hesitate, and after a moment he asked: "Do you have a good choice for me?"
Wang Yanqing looked at Ying Ping's sincere eyes and bowed again, saying: "I have no one to recommend at the moment."
Yingping secretly thought in his heart that although Wang Yanqing took the initiative to send the favor to him, based on his understanding of this old fox, he clearly knew that Wang Yanqing definitely did not have such good intentions - return to power? Is Wang Yanqing really willing to hand back his power? I’m afraid no one would believe it, right? I have worked hard and spent a lot of time to implement this new law to this day, just to remove the power from the hands of this uncle! It's good now. The new law hasn't hurt him in the slightest, so he takes the initiative to show weakness?
No, there must be something fishy in it!
The string in Yingping's heart was tense. He was silent for a moment and continued: "Since there is no good choice for the uncle, the position of Minister of Rites is pending for the time being, and I will make a decision after discussing with Prime Minister Yin. "
Seeing that Yingping did not directly follow up on the matter, Wang Yanqing knew that the sage was always wary of him. Emperor Tang was suspicious, and Emperor Tang's son was naturally suspicious too. What a father and son! At this time, Wang Yanqing knew clearly that there was no point in continuing to struggle like this, and he stopped struggling. He bowed his head and retreated, saying——
"Then...Wei Chen resigns."
Just as Wang Yanqing retreated to the door and turned around to leave, Yingping suddenly shouted to stop.
"Uncle——"
Wang Yanqing stopped his half-turned body and looked back at Yingping.
Yingping stood up from his chair and walked slowly to the case. He smiled half-heartedly and said to Wang Yanqing, "Is this why your uncle came here today?"
Seeing Yingping's intriguing expression, Wang Yanqing just turned around completely. He shook his shoulders and said in a very relaxed and casual manner: "Go back to your Majesty, this is the only reason why I came here today."
The two met their eyes and there was another silence.
"Ha-" Yingping laughed first, breaking the frozen atmosphere.
"Haha——" Wang Yanqing laughed in agreement with Yingping.
"Okay, I'm going to review the papers, uncle, please!" Yingping waved his hand, then turned around and walked inside without looking back.
"Wei Chen resigns!"
…
…
The lights in the imperial study were brightly lit, and Wen Junchen was looking at the situations presented in various places under the lights. He kept nodding and seemed very satisfied with the progress of the implementation of the new law.
Yingping was lying on the table and had fallen asleep. Chen Jinjue stood aside and was in a dilemma. He wanted to go up and cover Yingping with a blanket, but he was afraid of waking Yingping up. In desperation, Chen Jinjue could only look at Wen Junchen helplessly. When Wen Junchen put down the volume in his hand and rubbed his eyes, he walked softly to Wen Junchen and whispered: "Mr. Wen - Mr. Wen -"
Wen Junchen felt a little sleepy as soon as he closed his eyes. Suddenly, Chen Jinjue's call came to his ears, and he turned around to look with hazy eyes.
Chen Jinjue saw that Wen Junchen was also exhausted, so he said with concern: "Mr. Wen, it's past Haishi, and you still haven't rested?"
"Hai Shi? So late?" Wen Junchen was a little surprised that he had been sitting here for five or six hours without knowing it.
"Exactly - exactly -" Chen Jinjue seized the opportunity and said quickly: "Your Majesty has also been working hard recently. You see..."
Wen Junchen turned around and looked at Yingping, who was crawling on the table, and saw that this disciple was sleeping soundly, with his hair all over the table. Wen Junchen turned around and looked at Chen Jinjue, and saw Chen Jinjue smiling slightly flatteringly, and his meaning was obvious.
Wen Junchen stood up and walked to Yingping's side, shaking him gently.
"Your Majesty - Your Majesty -"
Yingping was sleeping soundly. In his dream, he was standing majestically above the main hall, and all the ministers bowed down to worship him. Even Wang Yanqing bowed to him. There were three people standing next to him, Ye Changshan and Yiyi on the left, and a woman on the right. The woman's appearance was a little blurry, but it could be seen from the blurred figure that she was definitely a beauty. Just when Yingping wanted to turn around and hold the woman's hand, there was a sudden shaking and he woke up from his sweet dream.
who is it! ? Disturbed my sweet dream! Yingping was about to ask questions when suddenly a familiar voice came from his ears, which made him sober up.
"Your Majesty, it's getting late, you'd better go to rest early."
Yingping kept his posture lying on the table, tensed his whole body and stretched, then rubbed his sleepy eyes, and saw Wen Junchen's figure appearing in front of him.
Yingping looked around and then at Wen Junchen. For a moment, he felt as if he had returned to the mountain compound.
Yingping twisted his neck, stood up and shook his numb arms. From the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the stack of volumes on Wen Junchen's Table Mountain. He left his chair, walked to the table and picked up a random volume from it.
He was very familiar with the handwriting on it, and only his master could write such smooth and solemn handwriting. The booklet was filled with the results achieved by various places in accordance with the implementation of the new laws. A quick look revealed that these nobles were saved. Salary is a large amount of money. In the past, the Tang Emperor put down the rebellion of the Six Kings and launched reforms. The treasury was actually getting increasingly empty. When Ying Ping got it, there was very little left. Now this money is not unimportant, and it is even a bit long-term. The smell of rain - although it is just a drizzle, it is better than nothing. Moreover, according to Wen Junchen's plan, more money will enter the treasury in the future due to the new law.
Looking at the extremely detailed figures on the volume, Yingping felt very pleased. He turned back to Wen Junchen and said, "Master, thank you for your hard work——"
Wen Junchen looked at Yingping's increasingly mature face and felt emotional. The conversation with the old man and the past events in the mountain gate all appeared before his eyes.
Even though it was extremely hard work now, he felt that it was all worth it.
"But for the Tang Dynasty, the emperor and his ministers will not hesitate to die -"
This sentence seemed to be said to Yingping, to the teacher, and to himself.
"Your Majesty, Shi Jinzi Shi... you should go and have a rest. I have been staying up late these days. I hope the dragon body is the most important thing -" Chen Jinjue interrupted at the right time.
"Okay, I will rest in the imperial study room today. Xiao Jinzi, you go and prepare-"
"yes--"
"Wait a minute——"
Chen Jinjue was about to turn around and prepare to wait for Yingping to go to bed, when suddenly Yingping called him out.
"I'm here, Your Majesty, please give me your orders."
"Go and prepare a bed. I want to sleep with Master in the Imperial Study Room."
"Your Majesty - don't -"
Wen Junchen was a little panicked. Although Yingping was still his master and apprentice in private, it was inappropriate to stay in the palace overnight. What's more, he was just a scholar and Confucian invited by the court. In fact, he had no official position. Xiang Yin has given him a lot of respect for entering and leaving the imperial study. If he sleeps here today, word will definitely arouse gossip, and it will eventually affect Yingping.
"Go and get ready - I want to have a long talk with Master, who dares to say it? Even if it's Prime Minister Yin, I'm not afraid!"
Yingping waved his hand to Chen Jinjue, signaling him to ignore Wen Junchen's objections. Chen Jinjue naturally did not dare to object after receiving the order, and hurriedly took the maids and eunuchs to make arrangements.
Seeing that Wen Junchen still looked inappropriate, Yingping said with a smile: "Hey, Master, just stay here for one night."
Wen Junchen knew this disciple's temperament, he liked to do random things and was informal, so he couldn't resist, so he acquiesced.
After such a torment, the remaining sleepiness disappeared a lot at this time, and Yingping, who regained his energy, suddenly felt a little hungry. He said to the maid next to him: "Go, prepare some midnight snacks and tea."
The palace maid went down after receiving the order. At this moment, only the master and the apprentice were left in the study.
