For many days in a row, secret orders were sent from the Imperial City of Qi to various border crossings like snowflakes, especially at various passes in northern Xinjiang. Countless troops were mobilized in one day. Although the operation was extremely secretive, there was some rumor, but this The slightest rumors were suppressed intentionally and never spread.
In recent years, Shangqi has rarely had time to dispatch military personnel. As a result, the court is naturally not peaceful, not to mention the secret orders are like flying snowflakes. Many officials are aware of it, but no one dares to mention it. , I just keep what I see in my heart and have no other thoughts.
The emperor has a kind heart and loves writing, but he is not a person with weak wrists. If everything is peaceful, he can discuss the current splendid articles with the first few officials in the palace, and the new calligraphy and painting of everyone in the literary world. But in the current situation, it is naturally impossible. People who dare to touch bad luck have to look at their noses and hearts and do their duty honestly.
However, there were exceptions among them. As soon as this incident came out, they sent their servants to prepare short sedans and went straight to the inner courtyard of the palace at night, unwilling to cover up.
Fires have been set up in the imperial city, and there are at least dozens of Qilin stoves in the inner courtyard, which keep all the palace palaces warm. Not to mention comparable to summer time, it still has a deep meaning of spring.
On the corridor, all the ministers got off the sedan. Even the elderly and those with inconvenient legs and feet still had to do this. Shangqi paid attention to the word etiquette. The king and his ministers were old and young, and etiquette always came first. However, in the full court, only one person did not need to get off the sedan, and walked straight to the palace. Outside the inner courtyard, just send the servants and bearers.
But now that the old man had just entered the palace gate in a sedan, he ordered all the servants to disperse, and walked straight to the palace with trembling steps. It was a difficult walk.
"There is no need for Prime Minister Xun to do this. His legs and feet have been inconvenient in recent days, so he can come in in a sedan. The Holy Emperor specifically ordered that only Prime Minister Xun can enter the palace in a sedan. There are not many taboos, so why bother walking." There were two chamberlains nearby holding lanterns and leading the way. , lowered his eyebrows and spoke softly to the old man.
"You have to sit in a sedan chair to enter the palace when you are around sixty. If you are lucky enough to live to an old age, won't it become a disaster of relying on your old age and neglecting your old age? Rules are rules. When a saint speaks, he must act accordingly." The old man shook his head and refused with a smile. "Since it is the saint's intention, I will accept it with tears in my eyes, but how can I have the courage to make the saint retreat again and again? I have to be aware of it no matter what."
The chamberlains in the imperial city are naturally people with extraordinary minds, accompanying the emperor and the tiger. Even if the saint is benevolent, he still needs to act with careful thought. As soon as Xun Xiangfang spoke, he knew that there was nothing wrong.
"Since Prime Minister Xun doesn't want to take advantage of this, if you don't think we are despicable, we will help you grow old. How about going to the palace?" Another chamberlain bowed and saluted, and handed the lantern to his left hand with a kind expression.
"Don't bother the two of you," Xun Wen said with a kind face and a hearty smile, "I haven't reached such an old age yet, not to mention that as a chamberlain, I have to help the dragon go up, and my merits are in the country, how can I support him? I'm an old man. You two can lead the way, and the old man can just face the saint by himself."
The two understood the meaning and knew that the old man was stubborn, so they slightly cupped their hands and lined up in front and back. The lantern illuminated the old man ten steps to the left and right as he walked slowly.
In autumn, the inner courtyard of the palace is always much deserted and desolate compared to the outside of the palace. Perhaps it is because the night is dark and few people travel. Except for the patrols of imperial soldiers and guards, the moon is reflected in the armor, and there are scattered lights. There are no idlers.
During the day, the golden walls shine brightly when the sky is bright, but when night falls, everything is silent. This seems to be the case in all the imperial cities in the world.
The sage of Shangqi, who is wearing a yellow robe, has been very tired in recent days. Now he is leaning on the table and taking a nap. No one else dares to disturb him, so he has to add charcoal and dry firewood to the Kirin stove. Although it is dry firewood, it requires a lot of money and manpower. I went to the Shiwan Mountains to chop rhinoceros wood, and then went through dozens of processes to obtain it. It can clear the mind and soothe the heart, but even so, It's hard to keep someone awake for several days without feeling sleepy.
When the old man entered the hall, he was not in a hurry to come forward. Firstly, he was afraid of disturbing the Holy One's sleep, and secondly, it was against the etiquette rules, so he simply sat down in the corridor, picked up the pile of letters and bamboo slips, and looked at them one by one.
Of course, you should not pry into the secret memorial letters, but Xun Wenqu could take a closer look at the rest of the documents. They were originally documents that would be sent to the palace in the future, and there were not many taboos. The palace maid saw that Prime Minister Xun was reading the document alone, using only the moonlight, which was quite dim, so she brought a bright lamp, placed it next to the old man, and gave a gentle salute, "It is unfortunate that Prime Minister Xun is facing the Holy Spirit at this time. The autumn wind is blowing." It's cold, why not go to the side hall to take shelter from the wind and cold, and wait until the Holy One wakes up before proceeding to give advice."
The old man shook his head, but looked at the palace maid in front of him more. "Don't worry, I haven't been out for many days. Now that the cool breeze is blowing, I feel much more comfortable. I can handle all kinds of chores very easily."
Prime Minister Xun has always had no airs, and never bullies his subordinates and never takes advantage of his superiors. Therefore, this palace maid has never been too afraid, but she chatted softly and was not timid.
"Your Majesty, your Majesty has been feeling a bit out of shape in recent days. Although our slaves and servants in the palace have been serving you with all their heart, it is of no use. Perhaps the visit of Prime Minister Xun this time can give your Majesty some relief." The palace maid was only ten and thirty-four years old, but her face had grown longer, and all the youthfulness had faded away, revealing a bone that could be stunning even with a little application of powder, and she said sadly.
Xun Wenqu smiled and spoke in a clear and muddy tone, "As the king of a country, it is very cold at high places. What's more, recently, everything is complicated and all gathered together. If the Holy One had no ambition, he would definitely not be so exhausted. But since To be a virtuous and virtuous king, one must work hard on one’s mind and body and strain one’s liver and gallbladder.”
The little palace maid sighed, "I thought that being a palace maid here and not being able to leave the palace all day long, dealing with trivial matters all day long, would already be a very troublesome job. But I didn't expect that saints also have their worries. Thinking about it this way, it feels much more comfortable." After the words came out, he realized that he was speechless. He immediately covered his lips and teeth, stood up and bowed to the old man next to him one after another.
Xun Wenqu's expression did not change, but he raised his eyebrows and asked, "Whose daughter is this baby, and why did they send you to the palace?"
The palace maid lowered her eyebrows and timidly replied, "My father was originally a fourth-rank official in the imperial court. A few years ago, he missed his duties and was demoted from his official position. The family has no money and it is really difficult to maintain it, so he sent his slaves to the imperial city. At least they can't. Hungry and cold.”
"Yang Honglu is a very responsible person." Thinking about it, I think it’s a pity that I sent this little baby like you inside the palace wall because of the extreme hardship.”
"While the birds are falling into the dust, do you want to take a look at the branches?"
The old man's words were kind and natural, but he did not look like that important minister who had no equal in authority and only had one person at his head.
The man in yellow robe woke up suddenly, looked at the sky outside the window again, straightened up with difficulty, and stared blankly at the documents and secret letters in front of him like a wall of bricks. Look.
Autumn dreams are often desolate. Even if you are a saint of Shangqi, you are bound to be vulgar. Thinking about that time of year, there were so many books and bamboo slips that it was difficult for me to take my turn to approve them. When I was tired from playing in my youth, I would often go to that person's residence and smell the agarwood in the incense burner. I could see that the person's face was obviously tired, but his face was still full of smiles. It made people feel more at ease, so he went there. He leaned against the man's knees and fell asleep,
But now that the burden of ten thousand kilograms seemed to be resting on his shoulders, I realized that it was really difficult for that man to squeeze out a smile at all.
It's a pity that I was born in an emperor's family, and I didn't see my relatives until I fell asleep at night.
"What time is it now?" The man stretched his muscles, stood up and went to the window to absorb some of the cold air in the autumn wind. Before his cheeks felt cool, they were quickly evaporated by the heat in the palace. He felt a little depressed for no reason and asked. .
There were waiting maids on the left and right. When the emperor got up, they hurriedly came to put on some clothes. The man waved his hands and refused to add more clothes.
"It's just around the clock. If Your Majesty is tired, it's better to rest as soon as possible. Don't let your body deteriorate." The palace maid responded. She was at the emperor's side. She knew that he was tired like a tide, so she made a point without permission. It's done right, without any overstep.
The man did not look back, but still looked out the window, smiling indifferently, "I'll rest, please, who will deal with the documents in the case? Prime Minister Xun has his own documents and memorials that Prime Minister Xun wants to straighten out, not to mention he is old, how can he hand them all over to him? .”
"Prime Minister Xun has been waiting outside for a long time, but he is unwilling to enter the side hall. He said that the autumn wind can sharpen his muscles and bones, so he holds a candle and looks at the documents outside."
The man frowned slightly, "Why didn't you tell me earlier? Please come into the palace quickly and make hot tea. Don't let Xun Xiang catch the cold."
Later in the evening, the two of them were sitting across from each other, as if they had guessed the sage's thoughts. The old man took some time to relax, holding the hot tea in hand, and waited for the latter to speak.
"Since Xun Aiqing knows your thoughts, why don't you come up with a good plan quickly? It might be inappropriate to be so tempting." Seeing that the old man remained calm, the man spoke first, but he really couldn't hold his breath and smiled bitterly.
The old man put down his cup and stood up to salute, "Old minister, I really don't know how to explain this matter. If a valuable treasure is lost in the imperial city, depending on the ability of the local officials, they will be able to find it sooner or later. But if someone runs away, it is really difficult to find it. "
The saint sighed, "It's true that I can't hide it from Duke Wenqu."
The old man smiled slightly, and it was rare for him to accept this compliment, "Actually, it is not a disaster for the prince to run away. When he was young and frivolous, he always talked about the north, so naturally he wanted to go to the North Yanze. Although the eldest prince's literary talent is not very good. Good, but his skills and cultivation talents are truly extraordinary. Ordinary people in the world will definitely not be able to do anything about it. If he went to Beiyanze and met that noble man, he might really be able to repair the relationship between the Holy Sage and that noble man a lot. At that time, it would be a good thing to lure the prince and return him to peace."
"Bei Yanze is treacherous. What should I do if the emperor is in trouble?" The man raised his eyebrows, and then suddenly relaxed. Finally, he exhaled a long breath and looked at the old man with an unreasonably cunning face. "If it weren't for that, Knowing that Prime Minister Xun rarely meets with the emperor, I really thought it was Prime Minister Xun who was provoking him. From this point of view, it is really a strategy that has the best of both worlds."
"Although we can help, we still have to protect ourselves. The great formation that has existed since ancient times must not be shut down by the Holy One." The old man retracted his smile, his face solemn.
The man was silent.
Then he nodded slowly and changed the subject.
"Why don't you drink tea first?"
