The Prime Minister's Mansion held another family banquet, probably because Yu Nian was back.
When An Yan saw her, she was wearing a red and white pomegranate skirt and sitting in the pavilion in the courtyard with Yu Jin and Yu Ru.
When facing her brothers and sisters at home, she was not so bitter and resentful. All her resentment seemed to be directed only at Yu Jingtang.
An Yan didn't know what she was thinking.
"Brother Yan!" Yu Huanzhang and the others were also there. When they saw An Yan, they smiled and waved for him to come over.
"I haven't seen you for some time, Brother Yan." Yu Jin also said with a smile.
Except for a few children, all the younger generation came together.
"Mr. An is very busy. Once you become an official, you will never be seen again." Yu Huanzhang said leisurely.
Yu Jin said: "Brother Yan is in an important position now. He has to go to the Queen of Heaven every day, so he must be cautious in doing things. Of course, he can no longer do nothing like you every day."
Yu Huanzhang curled his lips when he heard this.
An Yan smiled and said, "I'm really busy these days. I'll invite Brother Huanzhang for a drink some other time."
"Brother Yan, aren't you going to invite me?" Yu Huanzhen said aside and winked at An Yan.
An Yan understood immediately and said, "Of course I'll invite you too!"
Yu Huanzhang and Yu Huanzhen smiled knowingly.
Yu Jin looked at them and said to An Yan: "Brother Yan, these two people always do some shady things, don't follow their bad example!"
Yu Huanzhen was unhappy: "How could Sister Jin look at us like this!"
The two started arguing with each other there. An Yan watched the scene happily, and then looked at Yu Nian, who was still sitting in the pavilion and had not come over.
Her face was not that cold today, but she was also very calm, and her eyes were casually glancing at the flowers and plants in the courtyard.
Wang Gui, the general manager of the mansion, came over and said, "Master An, I want you to come over."
"Okay." An Yan nodded.
After An Yan left, Yu Jin glared at Yu Huanzhang and then Yu Huanzhen: "You two, please don't take Yan to a place like a brothel!"
Yu Huanzhen's eyes widened with an expression of innocence and surprise: "Sister Jin, what are you talking about! How could I go to that kind of place?!"
Yu Huanzhang couldn't help but burst into laughter.
When Yu Jin saw this, he waved his little fist and threatened: "Why are you laughing? I'm serious. If you dare to mess around, I will tell dad... No, tell uncle!"
Yu Huanzhang said seriously: "Although our brothers are a little cynical, we have always hated that kind of dirty place!"
An Yan walked into the inner hall and saw brothers Yu Jingtang, Yu Zongqian and Yu Wenjian sitting there drinking tea.
There was a hint of sadness in Yu Jingtang's expression.
An Yan suddenly thought that it might be because of the murder of Zheng Zhuoming, the governor of Yanzhou. Zheng Zhuoming came from Yu Jingtang's father's family and should have a close relationship with Yu Jingtang.
"My nephew has met his uncle and two uncles."
"Sit down." Yu Zongqian said with a smile when he saw An Yan.
An Yan sat down on one side.
"Then the envoys of Qin and Han went to see the Queen of Heaven again, right?" Yu Jingtang asked.
An Yan nodded.
"Is the Queen's intention different?" Yu Jingtang asked again.
An Yan, as a courtier, was often in front of the Queen of Heaven, so it was naturally the most convenient for Yu Jingtang to ask him about some matters in the palace.
Yu Jingtang is also opposed to opening the Three Realms Pass.
An Yan pondered for a moment, but did not answer directly, but said: "The envoy made a new condition. They heard that it has not rained for three years in Xuan Tang, and they promised to help us spread clouds and provide rain."
The three of them were all shocked.
Yu Jingtang frowned even more and did not continue to ask what Queen An Yantian meant.
Yu Zongqian asked: "What does the queen mean that day?"
"The Queen refused." An Yan replied.
Yu Zongqian sighed deeply.
Yu Wenjian said: "Our Xuantang country is rich and prosperous. Even if there is a natural disaster, it will be no problem to support the victims for a few years. But if it doesn't rain, no matter how strong the country is, it will be brought down sooner or later."
Yu Zongqian said: "If the Three Realms Pass is opened, it will undoubtedly bring disaster to the people of Xuantang! But if it continues like this, the people will also be miserable. Should we place our hope in the distant rain from heaven?"
Yu Jingtang sat in the main seat and pondered silently, but his expression seemed to be troubled by this.
"Then since the envoy will come to see my elder brother, I think Shen Tuying and Pei Shihe must have also been there. They may not be able to resist the temptation of this monster outside the pass."
"This is a crime of treason!"
"Once the Three Realms Gate is opened, will a country still be a country? There are reasons to accept both!"
At this time, Yu Jingtang looked at An Yan, who was also silent, and after thinking about it, he suddenly asked, "What do you think?"
Yu Zongqian and Yu Wenjian also stopped and looked at An Yan.
An Yan said: "Uncle is asking me whether I should open the Three Realms Gate?"
"Um."
"Since they are asking for something from us, what do we have to worry about?"
Yu Jingtang frowned and said, "Keep talking."
An Yan said slowly: "If what they said about the spiritual disaster outside the pass is true, we can only let in one person who can cast clouds and rain. If they really want to survive, they will definitely not give up such an opportunity. The world is full of chaos outside the customs, so I guess they wouldn’t be united in the face of life and death just for the sake of their family and country.”
"It would be best if this demon can be brought in to solve the root cause of the rain problem at once. Then he can be killed after using it."
"If not, you can keep him as a rainfall tool."
Yu Zongqian and Yu Wenjian felt a chill go down their spines as they watched An Yan say these words without changing his expression.
An Yan knew the purpose of those monks outside the customs, and the spiritual disaster was only part of the reason.
But doing so is tantamount to opening a gap.
Yu Jingtang looked at An Yan's eyes flickering, but he didn't make a decision and just said, "It's time to eat."
When Yu Zongqian and Yu Wenjian saw this, they stopped there, got up and walked out together with Yu Jingtang.
At the banquet, they did not mention this matter, but chatted with their family members.
"Next spring, Huanting and Huanqi should be participating." Yu Zongqian said.
"Let them go." Yu Jingtang simply said. "If you are not fully prepared, you will make a fool of yourself if you go."
Yu Wenjian's wife, Mrs. Bai, sighed and said: "These two children are far away in Chang'an. I imagine it must be very difficult for them to live here."
These words made Yu Huanzhang secretly curl his lips and make a disdainful expression towards Yu Huanzhen and An Yan, which seemed to mean that it was ridiculous for them to have such a hard time in Chang'an.
Yu Wenjian frowned when he heard this and said: "Do you send them little money? The pain will not be on their shoulders."
"Who will host the Spring Festival next year?" Yu Zongqian asked.
Yu Jingtang pondered for a moment: "I haven't decided yet, it should be Zhao Hanqin."
Yu Zongqian couldn't help but said: "Zhao Hanqin...isn't his qualifications not enough? Wouldn't it be better to relieve the public?"
Yu Jingtang said calmly: "Jie Gong is old and will retire soon. My son Xie Linghan is quite talented, but his political career will not be so smooth. I think Zhao Hanqin is quite suitable."
Yu Huanzhang and Yu Huanzhen were not interested in discussing these matters with their elders.
An Yan understood somewhat.
Yu Jingtang's son Yu Huanting will come to take the scientific examination next year, and asking Zhao Hanqin to preside over the spring palace will allow Yu Huanting to join Zhao Hanqin's sect.
Now that the position of Nayan in Luantai is vacant, Zhao Hanqin, the minister of Luantai, is the apparent leader of Luantai.
An Yan already had some knowledge of Xuantang's senior officials.
The most powerful civil servant was naturally Yu Jingtang, the internal historian of Feng Pavilion and Zuopushe, and his disciples and former officials were all over the government and the public.
Next is Pei Shihe, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel and the right servant of the Ministry of Personnel. He has the same power as the Prime Minister and is also a Tianguan (the Ministry of Personnel). To a certain extent, his status is no lower than that of Yu Jingtang.
But because of the Queen's relationship, Yu Jingtang was still the first civil servant.
Then came all the ministers, except for Pei Shihe, who all took sides. The Ministry of Husbandry and the Ministry of Rites were all on Yu Jingtang's side.
Then there is Zhao Hanqin.
As for Shentu Ying, because he held military power, he was completely different from the civil servant group.
After the family dinner, Yu Jingtang asked An Yan to stay.
In the study.
An Yan closed the door and saw Yu Jingtang standing behind the case with her back to him.
"Do you think the Queen of Heaven has any intention of opening the Three Realms Gate?" Yu Jingtang asked him.
"Uncle, shouldn't he know the Queen better than me?" An Yan said.
Yu Jingtang sighed and said, "Something has been different in the past two years."
An Yan's mind was slightly disturbed, secretly wondering if it might be because of the incident with Shen Tu Ying.
After thinking about it, he said: "When the foreign envoys of the two countries met the Queen of Heaven for the first time in Fuluan Palace, they presented a pill that could bring the deceased back to life. The Queen seemed interested at that time, but the envoy also said that the deceased must take the medicine within seven days. It worked, and the genius rejected them.”
What An Yan meant by saying this was to tell Yu Jingtang that the Queen of Heaven was not determined to refuse to open the Three Realms Pass. As long as the monks outside the pass offered enough conditions, she might change her mind.
Seeing that Yu Jingtang was silent, An Yan asked, "Uncle, do you think the method I proposed earlier won't work?"
Yu Jingtang was silent for a while: "Maybe it is a solution, but it is not a pure solution to the problem. It will bring more problems."
Yu Jingtang realized...
An Yan thought to himself, and then thought how could he not realize it, after all, he was the prime minister of the dynasty.
"What my uncle said is absolutely true. My nephew didn't think carefully enough."
Seeing that Yu Jingtang was still frowning and thinking, he added, "Why don't you wait a moment, uncle."
"wait?"
"Wait a minute, Mr. Pei and Duke Zhen Guo," An Yan said.
"Didn't my uncle say before that the envoys from the two countries might also go to them? Maybe they will have some solution. If the matter is finally solved, everyone will be happy. If it fails, they will not care about my uncle."
Yu Jingtang waited for An Yan to finish speaking, his cold face expressionless and his eyes fixed on him.
After a long time, Yu Jingtang said coldly: "You want to open the Three Realms Pass?"
An Yan bowed down and replied in a neither humble nor condescending manner: "Uncle, my nephew was a disaster victim."
"...Please step back."
"Yes, my nephew is resigning."
After walking out of the study, An Yan couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
He only did this for one purpose, to tie Yu Jingtang aboard his ship!
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(End of chapter)
