By the Xiaojiazhuang Lake, Lao Li Yuan, who was fishing under the shade of a tree, glanced at Xiao Rui, who was sleeping next to him.
He coughed softly and woke up the other party, "Boy, you have been fishing with my old man for two months. Even if you are Xiu Mu, you are almost done. Do you really plan to never enter Chang'an City again?"
Xiao Rui yawned and waved his hands: "I won't go. My personality is not suitable for the court. The court is best without me. No one wants to work with a evil star."
Old Li Yuan smiled and scolded: "You lazy boy. You are so talented but you just like to lie down? You start to take care of your old age at a young age? Why do you make us elders so embarrassed?"
"Erlang wrote a letter, saying that he was under a lot of pressure during this time without you, and often stayed busy until midnight before going to bed. Although he didn't say it explicitly, the meaning is obvious. He wants me, an old man, to persuade you to go out."
Xiao Rui sneered and said: "Grandpa, don't listen to the nonsense of my father-in-law. Can you believe the emperor's words? He is the best at making cakes for others to satisfy his hunger. Maybe he especially likes the hard work of being diligent and caring for the people."
Old Li Yuan scolded him angrily: "What are you talking about? Grandpa, I was also an emperor. What? Did I also draw cakes to satisfy my hunger?"
Xiao Rui smiled sheepishly and retracted his neck, but his expression was unflattering. It was clearly saying: Don't you have any idea?
Old Li Yuan knew that he could not convince the other party, and since he was indeed the same person, he quickly changed the topic.
"Humph, if you don't want to go to Chang'an to serve as an official, and you like to fish by the lake, that's up to you. But as the son-in-law of the royal family, you should share the country's worries, so you should do your best, and you should solve many problems. I I will ask Erlang to send someone to listen to your orders. No one in the three provinces, six ministries and government offices dares to disobey your orders..."
Before he finished speaking, he was interrupted by Xiao Rui.
"Wait, wait, what do you mean? You are... you are not asking me to directly intervene in government affairs, right? And you are working remotely?"
"I'm a military commander! You think of me as the prime minister? Am I that material?"
Old Li Yuan smiled, "Of course you are. The whole court has unanimously recognized you as the next prime minister. Everyone thinks you are, but why are you not confident in yourself?"
I……
Xiao Rui was speechless.
After thinking for a moment, he said seriously: "Others may not believe it, but that is because they do not understand. You have watched me grow up, so you have to believe that I am telling the truth. Let me fight and kill people, or occasionally investigate cases. It's okay to kill a few corrupt officials, but letting me lead the government as prime minister is a mistake for the country and the people. Xiao Rui never makes fun of state affairs."
"In the past few years, I have fought in wars, made money, and done everything I am good at. Now that there are no strong enemies outside the court, and there is money accumulated inside, I can no longer help. Your Majesty said that I am lazy, and so do you. They say I'm being lazy, but in fact it's not that I want to be lazy, it's that I'm so incompetent that I'm not good at anything else."
"As long as it lasts, tell me, now, if I don't retire, what else can I do? Go out and bully others? Or rely on my own reputation to make money? Or take the opportunity to cultivate power and then steal power? What's the point of all this? "
"You know me, Xiao Rui is not that kind of person."
Li Yuan was stunned. He thought that Xiao Rui would evade in a smooth way, or even show off and pretend to be angry, but he just didn't expect that he would explain so seriously.
As an emperor, Old Li Yuan prides himself on knowing people. He could tell that what Xiao Rui said was from the bottom of his heart, but he just couldn't believe it. Is this really the case? Who are you, Xiao Rui? The most talented person in the world knows almost everything. Are you saying that you have no skills? Who believes it?
After a long silence, Old Li Yuan let out a long sigh, dropped his fishing rod, walked to his recliner, and lay down leisurely.
"That's all. The world belongs to you young people. You have your own life. Why do I, an old man who is about to die, worry so much?"
Xiao Rui chuckled and said: "If your Majesty writes again, you might as well reply to him and tell him what Xiao Rui said: I have helped you wipe out the surrounding barbarians, and also helped you fill the treasury. Now you need soldiers and money. Money, if this can’t make Datang stronger, why not come here to support us in old age and let Cheng Qian give it a try.”
you……
Old Li Yuan pointed at Xiao Rui, dumbfounded, "You are such a skinny monkey, you really dare to say anything. He is your father-in-law after all, why can't you save some face for him? It doesn't matter if you are joking with me like this, if you let people outside I heard that I have to join in the concert. You are rebellious, and I will see if he doesn't give you any shoes to wear."
Xiao Rui said cheatingly: "There is no need to worry about the debt! It would be better if he is angry, then I can extend the vacation endlessly to avoid being caught."
Old Li Yuan waved his hand and said: "That's all, let's not mention him. But since you don't want to be an official and would rather fish every day, you can't cope with my old man. You must cook at least one meal every day and make me a delicious meal. Yes, this doesn’t count as tiring you, does it?”
ah?
Xiao Rui stood stunned on the spot and said with a bitter smile: "How could you do this? I seriously doubt that your original purpose was to trick me into cooking. Your Majesty's letter is all a trap..."
Old Li Yuan laughed heartily, "Isn't it because you are too lazy? My precious granddaughter married you, so why don't you call me grandpa and take care of me as an old man? But it takes a lot of effort to let you cook. I have to rack my brains every time to make a bet with you, and sometimes I have to sacrifice my old face to have a meal with you..."
"Sigh... It's not easy for an old man to be alone! Maybe one day I will close my eyes and never open them again. I don't know how many more meals I can eat?"
Come on, stop it, stop it! I'm afraid of you, why don't I agree? From now on, I will cook at least one meal for you every day, whether it is lunch or dinner, at least one meal!
Old Li Yuan immediately put away the bleak expression on his face, and instead stretched out his hand proudly: "Okay, it's a deal, and high-fives are the proof!"
Xiao Rui weakly raised his hand, and the two high-fived each other in the air.
At this moment, Li Junxian walked quickly with a letter in his hand.
"Fifth brother, has something happened? Are you in such a hurry?" Xiao Rui asked.
Li Junxian handed over the letter and then explained: "This morning, someone left a letter at a restaurant in Chang'an City. He only said that it would be forwarded to the Champion, but did not leave his name."
A letter to me? Who? Such a big deal?
Xiao Rui opened the letter casually, and after a while, he turned over and sat up, turning his head to look at Old Li Yuan.
Old Li Yuan: What? Is it about me?
Xiao Rui handed over the letter and said with a wry smile on his face: "Look, the tree is still but the wind is not stopping. Even if I hide, trouble will always come to my door. Alas... I really owe them and their son."
them? Who?
Old Li Yuan looked at the letter, and after a moment he laughed loudly and said: "You boy was born with this destiny, and you are the lucky star of my Tang Dynasty. You can't be lazy in this matter. After all, you are the matchmaker who has protected you, and now the woman takes the initiative to speak. Now, you still have to come forward."
Li Junxian was confused, what was going on?
Xiao Rui explained: "When we took Cheng Qian to make an engagement with the Cui family of Qinghe, it wasn't because we didn't kidnap him. We have forgotten about it in the past two years because of our busy schedule."
"It's good now. Cheng Qian has grown up and has reached the marriageable age. Miss Cui is a little older than Cheng Qian. If she doesn't get married, she will really become an old girl. The Cui family is anxious, so they sent me a letter to urge them. .”
Li Junxian smiled and said: "That's a good thing! Don't say that you are the big matchmaker in the middle. Even if you are not, as a brother-in-law, you must still come out to help."
Xiao Rui said worriedly: "How can it be that simple? We made a private agreement with the Cui family, but on the surface the agreement fell apart. I am sending a notice to everyone in the world, whoever dares to have his thoughts on Miss Cui family will be punished by me, Xiao Rui. Kill him! No one has dared to come to propose marriage in these years. Everyone is waiting to see the Cui family’s joke."
"But if we just come to pick someone up in such a arrogant way, it would be a direct slap in the face of the Cui family. It is equivalent to saying that I, Xiao Rui, are a robber who led someone to snatch his daughter away from his ancestral land. This will never work."
Hearing this, Old Li Yuan couldn't be happy anymore and kept thinking in his mind.
Li Junxian asked anxiously: "What should we do? We can't continue to shelve it, right?"
Xiao Rui thought for a moment, then stood up and said seriously: "Reply to the Cui family and say that one year later, I, Xiao Rui, will personally take people to welcome the bride."
ah? One more year? why?
