The light in the house was very weak. Perhaps because of the fear of the wind and snow coming in, the windows were closed tightly, leaving only a little dim light.
Wang Taifu, who was on the bed, heard Bai Yu'an's voice and said in a hoarse voice: "Yu'an is here."
Bai Yu'an walked to the couch, where a maid was holding a handkerchief and wiping the concoction from the corners of Taifu Wang's mouth.
She saw Bai Yu'an coming over, and after wiping, she quietly retreated.
The old man who looked at him still energetic at first is now much older.
Bai Yu'an looked sad, looked at Taifu Wang and asked in a low voice: "Is the teacher's health feeling better?"
Mrs. Wang coughed a few times and asked Bai Yu'an to sit down on the stool next to him. Then he said hoarsely: "I'm half buried in the earth, so my body doesn't matter."
Bai Yu'an suddenly felt a little uncomfortable, and then heard Taifu Wang's concern: "I heard that you suffered some hardships in prison, are you well now?"
Bai Yu'an nodded: "It's already fine."
Taifu Wang was relieved and said, "I heard from Gao Han that it was Shen Jue who delivered the letter for you?"
With a movement of his fingertips, Bai Yu settled down for a moment and then whispered: "He couldn't find any evidence of teacher's treason. He helped me and stepped down for himself."
After hearing this, Taifu Wang smiled: "Yu'an, you underestimate him."
Looking at Bai Yu'an's eyes, Wang Taifu leaned against the pillow and gasped: "Shen Jue, I watched him come up all the way from the top pick in high school at the age of fifteen."
"He was promoted four times in the past ten years. He only stayed in Hanlin for three years before going to Zhan Shifu. He only stayed in Zhan Shifu for two years before he was transferred to the Ministry of Personnel by the emperor and served concurrently as a cabinet bachelor."
"The year before you came, he had just been promoted to the position of chief minister, minister of the auxiliary country, and teacher to the prince. Then the young emperor ascended the throne. It has only been more than two years now, and he already controls the court alone."
As he spoke, Taifu Wang looked at Bai Yu'an with a deep look: "Shen Jue has been able to sit in this position in the past thirteen years. Although the late emperor trusted him, his decisiveness and excellent strategy are also the key."
"Such a person has a deep mind and will do whatever it takes to achieve his goal."
"Since he can accuse me of something for no reason, why would he want to step down from your steps like you said?"
Bai Yu'an raised his eyes and wondered, "Then why did he deliver the letter for me?"
Taifu Wang shook his head: "I haven't thought about this carefully, but what he wants is to monopolize power in the cabinet. As long as I leave, his goal will be achieved."
"I'm probably doing this as a favor to you, and also to give some comfort to a few veterans."
Bai Yu'an pondered for a few moments, and then told the terms Shen Jue exchanged with him: "The students have been anxious these days and can't figure out what Shen Jue means."
"At that time, the student only wanted to save you, but now that I think about it, I still feel that something was wrong."
Taifu Wang frowned and thought for a while before looking at Bai Yu'an: "Shen Jue is a very thoughtful person, and I can't guess what he is thinking."
"But since he did this, you just have to be more careful in the future."
Bai Yu'an had no choice but to nod, and then asked, "When does the teacher plan to return to his hometown?"
Taifu Wang sighed: "Maybe I will leave the day after tomorrow."
"I have seen through the warmth and coldness of human relationships for most of my life. My colleagues in the past were afraid of offending Shen Jue, so they also kept a distance from me."
"It doesn't matter if I retire and return to my hometown. If I still stay in the court, Shen Jue will pull out this thorn in me sooner or later."
Bai Yu'an lowered his eyebrows and was lost in thought while holding hot tea in his fingertips. After a few moments, he said with red eyes: "The teacher is gone. When will the students see the teacher again in the future?"
Taifu Wang sighed, looked at Bai Yuan's young face and said, "You are still young, so there is no need to be sad because of me."
"You still have a long career in the future. I'll ask Yang Yihai to take more care of you. As long as you do the work at hand with peace of mind, you will have the opportunity to display your ambitions when you enter the cabinet in the future."
Bai Yu'an looked at Taifu Wang and whispered: "As long as you can do things for the people, students never care whether they can join the cabinet."
Taifu Wang shook his head: "You think too simply. Historically, only the superiors have the right to make decisions. If the superiors deny it, it will be useless no matter how much you do."
"If you don't strive for an official career all your life, just like your report this time, it will be like hitting an egg with an egg and hitting a stone with no effect."
Bai Yu'an has already tasted the bitter fruit this time, and she just wants to be clear in her heart. If she does it again, she will still do it again.
But Bai Yu'an knew that the teacher's words were for her, so she nodded silently with red eyes.
Seeing that Bai Yu'an had listened, Wang Taifu asked the attendant standing behind the curtain to get something.
Bai Yu'an asked curiously: "What are you going to get, teacher?"
Taifu Wang then whispered: "You will know later."
After a while, the entourage brought a booklet over, and Taifu Wang put the booklet in Bai Yuan's hand and said: "This is a memorial that I planned to present directly to the emperor. But when I went to interview the saint, the little emperor only focused on talking to him. The eunuch laughed and didn't take what I said to his heart at all. I was disappointed and simply withdrew. "
"I originally wanted to wait until the end of the year when the six ministries and thirteen provinces gathered to settle the accounts before taking it out, but it was too late."
Bai Yu'an took the brochure and flipped it through in his hand. He looked at the contents of the brochure carefully and frowned: "With such blatant corruption in the Ministry of Works, didn't anyone above say anything?"
Taifu Wang snorted and said: "The Minister of the Ministry of Industry is the Queen Mother's biological brother, who dares to say that?"
Bai Yu'an frowned and said: "Obviously civilian tiles are cheaper and more durable, but the Ministry of Industry chose official tiles that are nearly ten times more expensive. How much profit should there be from this?"
"The wood is not far from Shuozhou, so why does it have to be transported by water? This is far beyond the budget."
Taifu Wang looked at Bai Yu'an and said: "If the Ministry of Industry does not do this, how can it get profits from it? How can it be greedy for the royal family's money?"
Bai Yu'an felt a surge of anger in his head: "If such a moth remains in the court, there will be countless people who are complicit in it."
Taifu Wang sighed: "It's a pity that I couldn't present this fold, and I won't have a chance in the future."
"The reason why I gave you this information is just to let you know the darkness of officialdom."
"Shen Jue must also know about this, but he remains calm and I can't see it."
"Don't submit the document at this time. Wait until the cabinet is liquidated at the end of the year and see if Shen Jue touches the Ministry of Construction."
Bai Yu'an took the fold and said in a low voice: "A person like Shen Jue who is obsessed with power should not offend the Queen Mother."
Taifu Wang coughed twice and said: "That's not necessarily true. Although Shen Jue is a bit sinister, he has indeed made many political achievements in recent years, otherwise he would not be reused by the late emperor."
"If he doesn't take care of this matter, just suppress it and don't mention it again."
"If he intends to care about it, it's not too late for you to resort to this trick."
"Maybe you can still get his help when the time comes."
"He has promoted a lot of people over the years, and most of them do have some abilities. As long as they are not his enemy, he does value talents."
Bai Yu'an looked at Taifu Wang in surprise: "But he treated the teacher like this..."
Taifu Wang looked at Bai Yu'an: "I often have political disagreements with him, so it's normal for him to target me."
"But you still have a bright future, so there's no point in going against him."
"You have to understand that it's useless for you to report the things he suppressed."
