It's a little too dark inside the temple.
And the light pouring in from the carved windows was a little too bright.
Emperor Xia Ya Li Qi was half asleep and half lying on the throne, his eyes were slightly closed, staring at a beam of light on the floor, and he was quietly listening to His Highness's people taking turns to report.
Big things, small things, world affairs.
His Highness stands with dozens of cabinet officials wearing swan blue court uniforms. From the chief to the last, day after day, year after year, there are endless troubles to worry about.
"Yesterday, the governors of the six eastern provinces arrived in Shengdu and were ready to report on their duties. Please ask the emperor to receive them in time."
"The emperor is requested to review the tax arrangements for the coming spring in the thirty-three provinces across the country as soon as possible."
"There have been heavy rains in the south recently, and some provinces have experienced severe floods that have not been seen in a century. I ask the emperor to make an early ruling and assign reliable talents to the south to provide disaster relief."
"The eighth day of next month is the Queen Mother's birthday. At that time, the whole country will celebrate and present the general outline of the budget process for the emperor's approval."
…
It has been more than a year since I listened to them preach about such specific matters tirelessly every morning.
Seeing that today's morning meeting was about to end, Li Qi turned his head slightly, glanced at these people, and asked in a routine: "Is there anything else interesting?"
Yang Xian, the second seat, stepped forward and said, "There is an interesting thing that happened in Lishan Kingdom in Zhennan."
Li Qi nodded slightly and asked casually: "Is it the [Futu] conference of the Huanjiao? Who is the winner?"
Yang Xian stood in the main hall all morning and talked all morning. At this time, he was still in high spirits and full of energy. He reported: "The interesting thing is the winners of this [Futu] Conference. Two of the three winners They are disciples of the Huanjiao, and one of them is actually an ordinary person, an ordinary boy who has never practiced for a day."
Li Qi seemed to be interested: "Oh? Then this person must have some great opportunity?"
Yang Xian nodded: "The spies said that this person is closely related to Qingwu from Wujiao Sanwu. What's more interesting is the origin of this person. This person's name is Lu Ran. He is from Xiaya. He is from Wuhai Town, Wushan County, Donghai Province. person."
"Lu Ran?" Li Qi suddenly opened his eyes, interrupted Yang Xian's words, and then seemed to recall something, a faint smile appeared on his face, the kind that bloomed from the heart, like a flower smile.
Li Qi touched his chin and said with a smile: "This name seems a bit familiar."
*
*
Two years later, hearing the name Lu Ran again did not cause much trouble in Li Qi's heart, because he had more things to worry about at this time.
Things that bothered him even more than what he had heard all morning.
So regarding Lu Ran, Yang Xian couldn't continue to talk about the outcome. Li Qi had already announced his resignation from the court, and then ordered someone to summon another person into the palace.
Li Qi could not wait any longer. He wanted to have lunch with this person in the imperial garden of the palace. He wanted to find someone to help him solve that "trouble".
Soon, Grand Master Xu Hui led two boys, one blue and one red, into the palace and met Li Qi in the imperial garden.
In view of Xu Hui's special status, when he saw the emperor, he only bowed slightly as a salute. When Li Qi saw him, he smiled brightly and greeted him to sit down.
The two exchanged pleasantries for a few words, and Li Qi couldn't wait to get down to the topic. He raised his glass and made a toast, asking, "Mr. Xu, how are my family's activities these days? Do you want me to worry about you again?"
Xu Hui still looked like that, with disheveled white clothes and a bit of weight. He was originally smiling, but when he heard the word "play" uttered in Li Qi's mouth, his expression changed, and then he showed a look that didn't know whether to laugh or cry. After finishing the glass of wine and sitting down, he replied: "Your Majesty, to be honest, I haven't seen the prince for three days."
"Are you skipping school again?" Li Qi's face was filled with helplessness.
Xu Hui hesitated to speak: "If it's just him skipping school, that's fine. The key is..."
Li Qi could only smile back: "Sir, it doesn't matter if you say it."
Xu Hui spread his hands: "The key is that it doesn't matter if he doesn't come. He doesn't allow his classmates to come to class. If he comes to class, he will kill someone, and his hand will be broken in the least, and he will be bedridden in the worst. Now In our living room, except for three female students, no one dares to come to class."
"This..." Li Qi knew that this "play" was naughty, but he didn't expect him to be so naughty. He was speechless for a long time and then asked: "Sir, please teach him a lesson. It doesn't hurt to give him severe corporal punishment. Let your Tong'er will give him a hard time."
Xu Hui smiled, and did not say any polite words such as how can we teach and educate students with corporal punishment, but said seriously: "You think I didn't hit? At first, it didn't work, but later I didn't dare beat."
When Li Qi heard this, even Mr. Xu, who had the best temper, used corporal punishment. He was shocked and said: "Why don't you dare to beat me?"
Xu Hui said: "Because he said that if I sent people to beat him again, he would set fire to Shengdu Square."
Li Qi stopped talking. He was already imagining the scene where the boy went to Shengdu Square to set a fire. The place where the late emperor's Dasheng statue was located was surrounded by trees and gardens, and there were shops and houses not far away. Once the fire was set, Not to mention the burned property and human lives, the reputation of the Xia Empire was also burned.
So, this guy is pretty smart.
When the new emperor ascends the throne, what he fears most is turmoil. If this happens, let alone Xu Hui, even he will not punish him easily.
Li Qi shook his head and smiled bitterly, and asked Xu Hui: "Sir, in my opinion, how about sending him up to Yuanjin Mountain?"
Xu Hui also shook his head: "With the eldest prince's natural power, no one in Yuanjin Mountain can teach him except the Jiao Zun and a few elders."
"Not one of the twelve true immortals in Yuanjin Mountain can do it?"
"no."
"Then how about sending him to the north to catch barbarians with his Uncle Four Emperors for two years?"
"no."
"Then how about sending him to the west to plant trees and raise sheep for a few years?"
"no."
Xu Hui said no three times in a row, which made Li Qi's face become more and more sad. He was stunned and thought that Li Qi had never encountered such a difficult thing before. After thinking about it, he raised his head and asked : "Sir, tell me, what should we do?"
Xu Hui stood up, toasted the emperor, and said comfortingly: "Your Majesty, don't be anxious. I think this is because although the eldest prince has the body of a young man, his mind is still that of a two or three-year-old child. He has not yet understood many things. , Xiao will wait for time for him to become sensible, and he will naturally know how to be polite, cultivate his moral character, and then find him a Qi-refining master. Now, all we want is the word "stability" to stabilize him and make him less Make mistakes, just do less ridiculous things that are shocking to the world.”
Li Qi did not comment on Xu Hui's words, but asked: "Then how can we stabilize him?"
Xu Hui looked at the young emperor and couldn't help but recall that he was a genius but naughty child when he was a child. He also thought that since he ascended the throne, he had everything going smoothly, but he never thought that he would meet such a "devil" in his family. He couldn't help but feel a little bit. Lamenting the impermanence of things in the world, even this so-called "perfect person" cannot always have everything he wants.
Li Qi has really changed since he became a father.
Xu Hui was a little crazy thinking about this. After a while, he heard Li Qi calling him again, still waiting for his suggestion.
An idea flashed in Xu Hui's mind and he said: "First of all, you have to find him, and secondly, you have to find him someone -"
Li Qi was almost overjoyed: "What are you looking for?"
Xu Hui smiled and filled the emperor's cup with wine.
"Find one, mother."
Some people died, but not completely...
