Yang Fan set off for the capital, bringing along his wife and son.
Only Gongsun Bufan, his wife, their daughter, and Chang 'an Magistrate Liu Xiantian came to see him off. The aristocratic families in Shandong did not see him off. This was within Liu Xiantian's expectations.
First of all, Yang Fan was just a doctor. Although he was now in the Heavenly Official's Yamen and had a bright future, he was not enough for the aristocratic families to lower their status. Moreover, Yang Fan had offended the Lu family. The aristocratic families in Shandong were all on the same side. Even if they did not have any prejudice against Yang Fan, they could not come considering the Lu family's thoughts.
Many people from the Guanlong family came, but most were of the younger generation, except for Dugu Yu, who was the head of the family. This was within Liu Guitian's expectations. In his opinion, the Guanlong Family was not doing this to give Yang Fan face, but rather to not give the aristocratic families of Shandong face. On the surface, they appeared to be harmonious, but deep down, they were sworn enemies. Of course, they would not let go of this opportunity.
But speaking of seeing them off, these people only went to the Gongsun Mansion first and then accompanied them out of the city. They had already given enough face, so there was no reason to see them off all the way to the Ten Mile Pavilion.
There was no grand ceremony when Yang Fan became the leader of the Succession Hall. This was the uncrowned king, the king of the night. His appointment was also very low-key. But when he came to Chang 'an, Yang Fan was just a fifth-grade doctor in charge of the Ministry of Justice. Now, he was one of the few bigwigs in the world.
At the Ten Mile Pavilion, a woman stood quietly.
She was dressed in green and had a graceful figure. She was in her thirties, but she still had her charm. She was the boat lady.
Yang Fan and the others came to the side of the pavilion. The boat lady walked out and bowed to Yang Fan.
Yang Fan reined in his horse. The ferrywoman said, "Today Erlang has returned to Luoyang, we won't be able to meet again in the foreseeable future. Our family's Miss wanted to personally come to see you off, but her body is weak and she cannot travel far. She specially sent this servant to give you some gifts. I wish Erlang a bright future and a meteoric rise! "
Eunuch Gao reined in his horse and looked at Yang Fan with a smile. He thought, "Erlang is really bold. Even with the Princess, he still dares to flirt with women outside."
Yang Fan had already jumped off the horse and thanked her profusely. The boat lady turned around and picked up a long case from the stone table in the pavilion. She walked slowly to Yang Fan's side and said with a smile, "This zither has accompanied my Miss for a long time. Now … it belongs to Erlang!"
While Yang Fan was thanking her for the zither, the boat lady suddenly lowered her voice and said, "Erlang's journey is a long one. My Miss has something to tell you. "
The boat lady's lips moved slightly, but her voice was clearly transmitted to Yang Fan's ears. In the eyes of others, the boat lady was just smiling. Yang Fan reached out to take the guqin and thanked her profusely. The boat lady also said some simple words of courtesy.
Yang Fan raised his eyes and looked at the boat lady with sharper eyes.
The boat lady was still smiling and looked calm. A string of subtle but clear voice was quickly transmitted to Yang Fan's ears, "From now on, Erlang's every move will have the power of wind and thunder. The power of wind and thunder is easy to release but not easy to hide. Therefore, there should be room for mistakes in everything. Because … no matter how perfect a plan is, there will be unpredictable variables. No one can really take everything into consideration!"
"Thank you, Miss Ning Ke, for your kindness. Although I am not good at zither, I will treasure it and regard it as a treasure!"
Yang Fan said loudly and then added in a low voice, "I understand. Even Kong Ming lost his pavilion. I will remember Miss Ning Ke's priceless advice!"
Yang Fan turned around and handed the zither to the boat lady's carriage. He turned back and bowed to the boat lady. The boat lady retreated to the side of the road and watched them pass by.
Sitting in the carriage, A Nu gently lifted the curtain and looked outside. At this time, she gently put down the curtain and turned around. She said to Xiaoman with a faint smile, "There are no horses or carriages under the pavilion."
Xiaoman had just fed her son and was making the child lie on her shoulder according to the method taught by Aunt Pei. She protected the back of his head with one hand and patted his back with the other to prevent him from vomiting milk. Suddenly hearing A Nu's words, she couldn't help but raise her head and said blankly, "What?"
A Nu made a face at her and said with a smile, "Nothing. Erlang of the Yang Family is a little silly!"
…
The boat lady stood outside the pavilion and watched the carriages go away. When the carriages turned into a black line in the distance, she suddenly turned back and ran.
The grass outside the pavilion was withered and yellow. It was a lonely scene of late autumn.
The boat lady ran for a few miles and came to a small river.
The late autumn river also had a sense of desolation. When it rolled and rolled, even the white waves lost some of their beauty.
An ox cart was parked by the river. Not far away, several guards were sitting on the ground and chatting. Several horses were casually nibbling on the withered grass. Seeing the boat lady coming back, the guards all stood up and held the horses to wait for orders.
The curtain of the ox cart was lifted. Miss Ning Ke was leaning on the soft brocade couch and looking at the flock of geese flying south in the blue sky in a daze.
The boat lady rushed to the side of the cart. Seeing her miss's lonely face, she couldn't help but feel sad. She scolded in a low voice, "Miss is weak and yet you came all the way to the pavilion for him. Since you are here, why don't you see him?"
Ning Ke's limpid eyes were still looking at the sky. After a long time, she withdrew her gaze and said lightly, "It's better not to see him. Then why do you have to see him? Go back! "
The boat lady sighed sadly.
Soon, the carriages also drove on the official road. But the direction they went was exactly the opposite of the direction Yang Fan and his entourage went to. One went south and the other went north.
The ox cart steadied on the official road. After a while, a sudden sound of zither came from behind the bamboo curtain. The guards in front and behind the cart were all uncouth men. They could hear the sound of the zither was cold and ethereal, but they didn't know the name of the song.
Ning Ke had two zithers, both made by a famous zither maker. One was the "Jiuxiao Huanpei" style, and the other was the "Crane Chirping in the Autumn Moon" style. Ning Ke loved them very much and named them "Yuanyang Zither".
That day, Yang Fan composed a song "Crane Chirping in the Nine Highlands" at the banquet of the aristocratic families. Today, Ning Ke gave this "Crane Chirping in the Autumn Moon" to him and they were separated from each other.
As the sound of the zither lingered, a yellow leaf fell from the tall trees on the roadside and was crushed by the wheels of the cart. In the carriage, Ning Ke plucked the seven strings with her slender fingers. Who could say that her fingers were not filled with deep affection? There was a touch of melancholy in her eyes, as if she had forgotten an intoxicating promise.
The boat lady sat at the front of the carriage and felt sad as she listened.
She could tell that Miss was playing an ancient song, 'Ancient Yearning Song'. Along with the melancholy melody, she unconsciously sang the words of the song in her heart, "You are like the bright moon, I am like the fog, the fog follows the moon and hides in the sky. You are good at playing the zither and I am good at dancing. At the end of the song, my heart is blocked. Only when you look back, I think of you in the morning and at dusk. My soul will follow you without regret. My longing is bitter for you. Who can tell me the bitterness of yearning? I don't know where you are … "
Singing silently, the boat lady's eyes were full of tears.
Her Miss was impeccable in beauty, talent, and temperament. But God couldn't tolerate such perfection. He insisted on depriving her of the right to pursue happiness with a chronic disease that made people desperate. Her Ning Ke's heart could only sway in the ancient poems, and he could only feel sorry for himself in the soft and beautiful music …
…
In the yamen on the right of the imperial censor, Imperial Censor Zhou Ju was neatly dressed and sat in the main hall. He held a gavel in his hand. His face was as calm as water and his eyes were like lightning. Two groups of servants stood on the left and right, holding water and fire sticks in their hands. The problem was … there was nothing in the main hall. It was empty.
In the queue of bailiffs standing on both sides, the monitor and the deputy monitor were standing at the head. The two of them secretly glanced at Imperial Censor Zhou and winked at each other. Their expressions were strange, but they didn't say anything. The situation was indescribably strange.
After a long time, the monitor couldn't bear it anymore. He coughed lightly and said, "Imperial Censor, today … will the criminal really come to turn himself in?"
Zhou Ju stared at him and shouted, "The emperor doesn't joke! If the emperor says he will come, he will definitely come. Wait! "
"Yes, yes, yes …"
The monitor didn't dare to say anything more and quickly returned to his position.
The left of the imperial censor was the group of people left by Lai Junchen. These people had basically collapsed and there weren't so many imperial censors to replace them. Many things were temporarily handled by the right of the imperial censor who was originally only responsible for the supervision and reporting of local officials. Zhou Ju was the right of the imperial censor. After he received the imperial edict and took over the affairs of the left of the imperial censor, the first thing he did was to impeach Xue Huaiyi.
Now that Wu Zetian only favored the second one, Xue Huaiyi had nothing to do, so he became more diligent in recruiting disciples. Monks didn't pay taxes, so many people became disciples of Xue Huaiyi in order to avoid paying taxes. Others needed to be examined and approved by the temple to become a monk, but Xue Huaiyi didn't need to. Moreover, no yamen dared to deny that a monk who had shaved his head was not a monk. Unfortunately, the monks under him didn't need to abide by the rules, so everyone flocked to him.
Because of this, not only could many people boldly avoid paying taxes, but there were also a large number of monks who didn't abide by the rules in White Horse Temple. They drank and ate meat every day, and practiced martial arts. Zhou Ju didn't like it for a long time, so once he had the power to manage the soldiers and civilians in the capital, he immediately wanted to reorganize White Horse Temple.
In the end, Censor Zhou went to White Horse Temple. If he didn't run fast, he would have been beaten into a cripple. Zhou Ju was furious and went to impeach Xue Huaiyi in front of Wu Zetian. Wu Zetian only favored the second one. If Zhou Ju didn't come to complain, she would have almost forgotten about Xue Huaiyi. Hearing Zhou Ju's words, Wu Zetian also felt that Xue Huaiyi was making a mess, so she kindly asked Zhou Ju to go back and wait. She immediately ordered Xue Huaiyi to come to the censorate for trial.
Zhou Ju went back to the censorate and set up such a formation. In the end … it was already past lunchtime, but Xue Huaiyi still didn't come.
"Rumble …"
Zhou Ju's stomach let out a disappointing sound. Zhou Ju quietly withdrew his hand that was holding the gavel, tightened the belt under his official robe, and continued to sit upright. As long as Xue Huaiyi didn't come, he wouldn't leave the court. Today, he was going to waste time with Xue Huaiyi!
At this time, Xue Huaiyi was riding on a tall horse. His sleeves fluttered in the wind, revealing his chest and stomach. He led Hong Yi, Hong Liu, and a dozen other monks towards the censorate.
"Hong Liu, your seventeenth brother will arrive in the capital today. Has' Golden Hairpin Drunken 'been booked?"
Hong Liu said, "Master, rest assured. Your disciple has already booked the entire 'Golden Hairpin Drunken'!"
Xue Huaiyi laughed heartily, "Hahaha, good! When we get back to pick up your seventeenth brother, let's go drink to our hearts' content! Hurry, let's go to that damn censor's office first. Don't delay us men's business! "
… …
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