"That's it for today!" Putting down the memorial, Emperor Liu raised his head and looked at the dazzling lights in the palace. He couldn't help but rub his sour eyes and said softly: "I'm tired! Let's take a rest!"
"Yes!" Hearing Emperor Liu's instructions, he responded in a blurry voice and quickly went to prepare.
Just as he was about to get up, Emperor Liu paused obviously and turned around to hear: "How is Wang Yansheng? Have you gone back?"
After hearing the question, Tuo Tuo reported: "Back to the official's house, he is still waiting for the imperial edict outside the palace!"
"Is he okay?" Emperor Liu frowned slightly and asked, seemingly displeased.
?Tuo: "You should keep an eye on your little ones and report them as soon as they happen."
"I've been waiting for so long!" After hearing this, Emperor Liu was silent for a moment and said calmly: "I want to see what he wants! Declare him to enter the palace!"
Starting from sunset, Wang Yansheng entered the palace and asked for an interview, but Emperor Liu refused to meet him. Wang Yansheng's temper seemed to have gotten worse. When you didn't see me, I waited and sat on the imperial steps, doing whatever I wanted and not caring about who came and went. , a glance from the corner of his eye.
"The guilty minister Wang Yansheng comes to see His Majesty!" Finally seeing Tianyan, Wang Yansheng kowtowed before the emperor and bowed with great respect, just like in previous years.
It's just that when the monarch and his ministers are in person, there is a bit less harmony than in the past, and the air seems to be filled with embarrassment. After all, he was getting older, and he had been waiting outside the palace for nearly two hours. Wang Yansheng was extremely exhausted and could barely hold on with just one breath.
Emperor Liu was sitting in the royal eucalyptus, high above him, silently examining Wang Yansheng. The old minister showed a desolate temperament. Emperor Liu was very hard-hearted, but looking at his appearance, he naturally felt relieved.
However, the feeling only lasted for a moment. In Emperor Liu's eyes, Wang Yansheng was just pretending to himself. Therefore, after pondering for a while, the first words he spoke were: "Your body has recovered well, and your ears and eyesight are sharp. Only in old age do you realize how rare it is to have a solid body! I want to congratulate you!"
There was a hint of sarcasm in Emperor Liu's words. On normal days, no matter what he was thinking, he would always show fear on his face, or at least have a certain reaction. However, at this time, Wang Yansheng was very calm. He just lowered his head slightly and responded without hesitation: "Fortunately, His Majesty's blessings have blessed you..."
Wang Yansheng's reaction surprised Emperor Liu. There was something wrong with this old guy. After thinking for a while, Emperor Liu raised his body and said directly: "Tell me, what do you mean by you being so unwilling to see me?"
After hearing the question, Wang Yansheng obviously regained some energy. He raised his eyes to look at Emperor Liu, clasped his fists with both hands, and said solemnly: "I'm here, I hope to ask for a favor from your majesty!"
"Oh?" Emperor Liu was surprised. He glanced at Wang Yansheng and said, "Tell me about it!"
Immediately afterwards, Wang Yansheng said solemnly: "The old minister's family is short of money and cannot maintain it. I hope to borrow 50,000 yuan from your majesty..."
Hearing Wang Yansheng's purpose, Emperor Liu was obviously stunned for a moment, and then raised his eyebrows. His expression seemed to say "You're kidding me." He suppressed the weird feeling in his heart and asked, "Borrow money! This is what you are seeing." beg!"
Wang Yansheng nodded and gave an affirmative reply: "Exactly!"
Seeing his serious look, Emperor Liu couldn't help but look at the old man a few more times, and said coldly with a straight face: "You, Wang Yansheng, are actually short of money? This is really a strange thing!
I have heard that in the back house of your father-in-law, everyone is wearing gold and silver, the stewards are all wearing Shu brocade, the maids are all dressed in Su embroidery, and even the doorman has a piece of Hu silk. It’s somewhat unbelievable to be short of money despite being so stylish on weekdays..."
He was also ridiculing. After listening to Emperor Liu's words, Wang Yansheng's expression finally changed, and there was a touch of solemnity on his old face. He was silent for a while and responded sadly: "Your Majesty said this, I feel deeply ashamed! I always run the house poorly. Due to today's embarrassment, today's shameless begging is actually of great help to the urgent need, so please take note of it, Your Majesty!"
Wang Yansheng spoke frankly, and his tone became more bleak. Emperor Liu became more interested, and his expression became more skillful. He thought about it and said, "What's the big use? Do you want to buy jewelry, or are you interested in some famous name?" Ma Baojian?"
Obviously, Emperor Liu had heard about some of the situations in Wang Yansheng's family. Even though he was already shameless, Wang Yansheng still felt warm after hearing this. He gritted his teeth and said, "To be honest with you, Your Majesty, I have called on some old relatives and organized them into a team to prepare for sea reclamation. However, due to lack of funds, There is a lot of shortcomings at the top, and the old minister has no way up and down. He thinks before and after, so instead of asking for help from others, it is better to ask for help from His Majesty..."
After listening to Wang Yansheng's explanation, Emperor Liu not only did not clear up his doubts, but instead frowned even more tightly. His cold eyes fell on Wang Yansheng and said, "Seriously?"
"I dare not deceive Your Majesty!" Wang Yansheng said.
"Ha!" Emperor Liu sneered, showing his contempt for such statements.
Under Wang Yansheng's concerned gaze, Emperor Liu thought for a while and said: "I can't lend you this money! The reason is very simple. There are countless officials who organize overseas trips. If they are all like yours, I don't have that much money to use. Come lend it!
If you only lend some people, that would be treating each other differently, which is inconsistent with my style of "treating everyone equally"! Therefore, although you are responding to my initiative and organizing people to go overseas to colonize, I cannot borrow the money.
It’s not that I’m stingy, it’s a matter of principle. Once I open my mouth, I’ll be out of control..."
When Emperor Liu said this, Wang Yansheng was stunned for a moment. He was obviously a little surprised and didn't have much reaction. He stayed there, lost in thought. After a long time, he slowly handed over his hands and bowed solemnly: "Your Majesty's wishes, veteran minister." Understood!"
"In this case, I won't bother you much, I'll leave now!" After saying this, he bowed at the end of his sentence and left slowly.
Seeing this, Emperor Liu was really stunned. He frowned and did not stop him for a moment. However, Wang Yansheng quickly stopped himself, turned around and said this to Emperor Liu: "Although there is a small slander, it is the old minister's inappropriate words and deeds that made His Majesty unhappy. The old minister feels guilty and will give an explanation to His Majesty. ....."
After saying that, Wang Yansheng walked slowly and left the Chui Gong Hall. Emperor Liu didn't say anything, he just stared at his old figure silently, his brows furrowed tighter.
"Official!" It wasn't until He Tuo called out that Emperor Liu came back from his thoughts and glanced at him. Emperor Liu raised his finger and said, "There is something wrong with Wang Yansheng. Go check and find out what's going on!"
"Yes!"? Tuo responded, feeling a little happy about this task. Go straight to the Imperial City Department, this is an inquiry under orders.
...
It was approaching midnight, and the sky was as dark as ink. In the back garden of the palace, Wang Yansheng stood quietly by the pool, dressed in single clothes and holding a steel knife in his hand. There were only a few scattered stars in the night sky, the light was dim, and it was difficult to form a reflection on the water.
The old face was completely numb, but his eyes were still firm, and his skinny hands held the scabbard tightly. After a while, Wang Yansheng suddenly pulled out the long knife, placed it across his neck, and with coherent movements, he immediately drew a It was a thin mouth, but it stopped at the end.
There was still an expression of indifference on the old face, and Wang Yansheng murmured: "A man should die by sword!"
As he spoke, Wang Yansheng let out another burst of sad laughter, floating in the back garden. The horizontal knife was turned upside down, inserted hard into the soil under his feet, jumped into the pool, and dug in desperately...
