one
Xie Xiangcai was living like a year, and he couldn't believe that the peerless swordsman named Murong Mingzhu was no longer in this world.
The dragon-slaying sword in his hand rested in Xie Xiangcai's arms without any owner, buzzing like a person sobbing.
The young man's palm gently touched the dragon-slaying sword, and the lines on it were cold and biting.
He stood up and recalled the scene when he first met his fifth senior brother in the back mountain a long time ago, his vision blurred for a moment.
There was a knock on the door, and Prime Minister Xie responded softly, and then the door was gently pushed open.
He looked up and saw Zhao Heyue walking into the house holding a tray. Seeing his master coughing, he quickly put down the tray and closed the open window tightly.
She was wringing her clothes with both hands, unable to speak a complete sentence. In the end, she could only point to a few exquisite small bowls on the tray and said in a very low voice, "Master... these are the bird's nests and bird's nests I asked the imperial chef to make." Tremella fuciformis can warm the body.”
Xie Xiangcai's smile was a little tired, but he still nodded to Zhao Heyue, symbolically picked up a small bowl, scooped out a spoonful of bird's nest and put it into his mouth, but it still tasted like chewing wax.
Seeing this, Zhao Heyue sat down next to Xie Xiangcai, snatched the small bowl from his hand, grabbed a spoon and took a mouthful of bird's nest, and put it to the other person's mouth without any explanation.
Xie Xiangcai had no choice but to open his mouth.
Over and over again, a small bowl of bird's nest was eaten by Xie Xiangcai.
Zhao Heyue nodded with satisfaction, then opened another small bowl, which contained steaming white porridge. There were some dried small fish in the small plate next to the white porridge.
The princess fed her master a little awkwardly, one bite of fish and one bite of porridge. Even though the master's collar was full of rice grains and soup, she still couldn't stop the smile on her face.
Xie Xiangcai's brows relaxed slightly, he rolled his eyes at Zhao Heyue with some annoyance, and the corners of his mouth rose slightly.
Zhao Heyue dared to laugh heartily when he saw his master finally smiling.
After a while, she carefully approached Xie Xiangcai and asked timidly, "Master, why are you unhappy?"
Xie Xiangcai stopped smiling and raised the dragon-slaying sword in his hand. He looked at Zhao Heyue and said, "Do you know what kind of sword this is?"
Zhao Heyue shook his head like a rattle.
The young man sighed, "Dragon-slaying sword."
Zhao Heyue suddenly raised his head and said in shock, "Is it the sword of the Fifth Young Master of Qingmeng City?"
Xie Xiangcai nodded slightly.
Zhao Heyue seemed to realize something, pursed his lips tightly, and after a long time asked softly, "This matter has something to do with my brother, right?"
Xie Xiangcai nodded again.
Zhao Heyue stamped her feet hard and felt so wronged that she almost cried. Her eyes were red and she took a step forward and said to Xie Xiangcai, "Master, I'm sorry, I..."
Xie Xiangcai waved his hand, looked at Zhao Heyue gently and said, "This matter has nothing to do with you, I won't blame you."
After a long silence, Prime Minister Xie raised his head and asked Zhao Heyue, "If one day I really want to seek revenge on your brother, which side will you stand on?"
Zhao Heyue was stunned and bit his lips without saying a word.
Xie Xiangcai looked at Zhao Heyue quietly. Seeing that the other person's cheeks were red, he smiled and shook his head, got up and walked out of the house.
Zhao Heyue suddenly raised his hand and stopped Xie Xiangcai.
She mustered up her courage and said, "I'll help my brother."
Prime Minister Xie suddenly turned around, looked into Zhao Heyue's eyes, and nodded with satisfaction after a moment.
two
Outside the gate of the princess's courtyard, Hu Jie stood leaning against the gate, his hands in his sleeves and his expression tired.
When he saw the young man walking out with his sword on his back, he stretched out his hand and waved it, and the young man walked towards him.
Hu Jie patted Xie Xiangcai's shoulder, and a soft energy rushed into the other person's body, dispelling the paleness on his cheeks.
Xie Xiangcai looked at the disheveled master and moved his mouth, but did not say a word.
Hu Jie looked up at the sky and said in a hoarse voice, "Don't worry, your senior brother has no regrets, so don't be too sad."
Xie Xiangcai lowered his head and nodded gently.
Hu Jie walked forward and led Xie Xiangcai out of the palace step by step.
"You go see Cao Qili and tell him that I want something from him. Then he will naturally understand the meaning of my words."
Xie Xiangcai was startled, and then said "Yeah".
After walking out of the palace, Xie Xiangcai followed Hu Jie's instructions and first bought two baskets of coal. Then he walked through several winding alleys and finally came to the door of a simple residence. He raised his hand and knocked gently on the door.
Not long after, the door of the room was opened. The middle-aged Confucian scholar with gray temples looked at Xie Xiangcai, his face darkened, and he was about to close the door.
Xie Xiangcai quickly stretched out his hand and stopped Cao Qili's movement.
He smiled and handed two baskets of coal into the door.
Cao Qili's expression was gloomy, and he kicked the two baskets of coal out of the room mercilessly, and then slammed the door shut with a bang.
Xie Xiangcai stood there at a loss, looking at the coal scattered on the ground, and scratched his head at a loss.
He put the coals back into the basket one by one with some annoyance, and knocked on the door a few more times patiently.
In desperation, Xie Xiangcai had no choice but to knock on the door and shout loudly, "Master Wen Xiang, my master said that I need something from you!"
The footsteps inside the door suddenly stopped, and after a few breaths, the door was opened again by Cao Qili.
He frowned and looked at Xie Xiangcai. After pondering for a moment, he asked him to carry the coal into the house.
Xie Xiangcai stepped into the house with his front feet, and a cold feeling penetrated deep into his bones.
He put down the two baskets of coal, looked up and looked around, and was stunned for a moment.
Apart from being small and broken, Xiang Xie couldn't think of any other words to describe this room.
Xie Xiangcai never expected that a dignified and literary minister would live in such a dilapidated hut.
The young man also understood why the master asked him to buy two baskets of coal and come here. Looking at the environment here, it must have been many days since he had lit a fire.
Cao Qili didn't care about Xie Xiangcai's gaze. He simply dusted the bed and waved his sleeves to invite Xie Xiangcai to sit down.
The middle-aged Confucian scholar was wearing a long gray coat that had been patched countless times, and stood there with a slight trembling.
At this moment, he was actually looking at the two baskets of coal on the ground with some restraint. After a mental battle between heaven and man, he grabbed two pieces of coal with his hands, threw them into the stove, lit them, and waited for a while for the temperature in the room to rise. After a while, he wiped his hands and sat next to Xie Xiangcai.
Cao Qili straightened his back, looked ahead and said seriously, "Is Shangzhu Kingdom also preparing to take action against Xu Hongqing?"
Xie Xiangcai was startled, hesitated for a moment and then nodded slightly.
Come to think of it, the "meaning behind the words" that Master said earlier was Cao Qili's words.
Cao Qili took a deep breath and placed his two chapped palms on his knees. He was silent for a moment and said slowly, "Xu Hongqing holds a high position in the court. He controls the government with one hand and His Majesty with the other. He wants to get rid of him." It’s not that easy.”
The young man nodded slightly and motioned with his eyes to Cao Qili to continue.
"Your master's attitude towards Xu Hongqing has been ambiguous for so many years, and now he is determined to break up the relationship. Something must have happened, right?"
Cao Qili turned his head to look at Xie Xiangcai and asked.
Xie Xiangcai closed his eyes lightly and opened them immediately after a moment.
"My fifth senior brother...is dead."
Cao Qili looked at Xie Xiangcai in astonishment, then shook his head and sighed.
"I am jealous of talents..."
Xie Xiangcai looked at Cao Qili, "Doesn't Mr. Wen Xiang know that my fifth senior brother wants to kill your majesty?"
Cao Qili nodded.
"How could I not know? In the final analysis, this matter is your Majesty's fault, and I cannot blame Murong Mingzhu. Your Majesty loves poetry, painting and concubine Yan, so he delayed the government affairs and made Xu Hongqing's family dominate. The people of the world remained silent on the surface, but in fact they were complaining behind the scenes. Everything was It’s because of Your Majesty.”
"Murong Mingzhu has superb swordsmanship. If he can negotiate peace with His Majesty, he will definitely become the mainstay of our military generals in Daqing in the future. He can stabilize the country at the bottom, and guard the border against the imminent Seli Kingdom and Hesang Kingdom. , Murong Mingzhu should not die."
"I think the heavy snowfall in the past few days is related to the death of Murong Mingzhu. The national destiny of Daqing is related to three people. The old imperial master guarded the Temple of Heaven to observe the changes in the wind, clouds and stars, which was for the sake of the weather. Xu Hongqing was in charge of the government and guarded the official destiny of the country, which was for the sake of humanity. and. The other one is the earth-moving dragon that has been bred in Yanluo Mountain since the founding of Daqing. It controls the direction of a country's mountains for the sake of geographical advantage. The three of them are indispensable. At present, it seems that the easiest one to attack is only Xu Hongqing, and among them the most important The only one who will be eliminated will be Xu Hongqing."
After listening to Cao Qili's words, Prime Minister Xie stood up involuntarily and bowed to him.
"Junior thanks Master Wenxiang on behalf of Fifth Senior Brother."
Cao Qili waved his hand and said, "No need to thank me. I am only speaking from my heart. Although I am speaking to your master and disciple at this moment, I will not stand on your side. Many days ago, I gave an advice to the court about moving the capital. I will insist on submitting the memorial to Qingmeng City."
Xie Xiangcai put his hand on his forehead and smiled bitterly, "It depends on whether my master agrees or not."
Cao Qili raised his eyebrows, "You have to agree even if you don't agree. If you want me to shut up, you have to kill me!"
Xie Xiangcai hurriedly bowed his hands and saluted, "Your Majesty Wen Xiang is serious in his words. My master is also a person who cherishes talents. He knows that you are the pillar of the country, so how could you hurt your harmony?"
Cao Qili snorted coldly, but his brows relaxed a lot. He looked Xie Xiangcai up and down, and nodded slightly, "It is a blessing for Shangzhu Kingdom to have a disciple like you at such an age. Remember, practice hard. , read more articles, be rich inside and outside, and strive to become the pillar of the country as soon as possible, stabilize the country, and resist foreign enemies."
Xie Xiangcai scratched his head and said, "Lord Wen Xiang, you are ridiculous. If you practice more and study more, I will be able to do it. However, peace and stability of the country is too far away and noble. I have no time to care about it now."
Cao Qili's face changed slightly and his voice rose a bit.
"First there is a country, then there is a family. The two have a close relationship. Nowadays, the country is in turmoil, with both internal and external troubles. I am afraid that drastic changes will occur within fifty years. When Xu Hongqing's family becomes dominant, they will inevitably have plans to rebel. In addition, the foreign enemy is ready to move. If the two attack each other, the tall building collapses, and your family will suffer. How can we stay out of it? I understand what you young people are thinking. It is nothing more than the love between Ying Feicao and his daughter, and you all want to have a good family. But Everyone in the world is included in this, everything is related, everyone is responsible, and no one can protect himself. If everyone only cares about the small family, how can we survive? Can you bear to let the people you want to protect be in troubled times? "
Xie Xiangcai bowed and clasped his fists, feeling admiration in his heart.
Cao Qili let out a long sigh and stood up to see off his guests.
He sent the young man to the door and said earnestly, "What our generation can carry has already been carried. The road has been paved. It depends on how you young men go."
Xie Xiangcai once again raised his fists and saluted, "What Mr. Wen Xiang said is absolutely true. The younger generation can learn from it."
Cao Qili nodded slightly and opened the door to see him off.
Before Xie Xiangcai went out, he felt his pocket sink. When he looked down, Cao Qili stuffed a few slings of money into his pocket.
He looked back at the other party in astonishment.
Cao Qili chuckled, rolled up his sleeves and turned around.
"Cao Qili remembers the kindness of a gentleman who doesn't take advantage of others when they are in need. Your master told me that I will get started and you can leave now. Don't worry."
In the cold wind, a middle-aged Confucian scholar wearing a shabby long coat stood on tiptoe to watch the young man who bowed his head in deep thought, as if he had traveled across time to say farewell to someone in his youth.
The young man put his hands in his sleeves, still thinking about what the Confucian scholar said.
Listening to your words makes me sad and relaxed.
Teachers, so they preach, teach, and resolve doubts.
A few words can correct people's hearts, which can be called a teacher or a friend.
As expected, the minds of the world's literati cannot escape from it, and all the thoughts of the world's Confucian scholars are within it.
