It took six days for Chen Longzheng to return to Xi 'an.
With a panicked and uneasy heart, Chen Longzheng returned to Xi 'an and returned to the Locust Control Office. When he arrived, it was lunchtime. Today's main dish should also be meat. From afar, Chen Longzheng could smell the aroma of meat from the office.
The Xiao Qin Empire treated its officials much better than the former Ming Empire in terms of benefits, whether it was salary or daily benefits. When the central officials left the capital to work in other places, they received extra subsidies and bonuses. And the most humane of all, in Chen Longzheng's eyes, was the lunch.
As the old saying goes, the Emperor does not use hungry soldiers. As the Emperor, Xiao Ruxun was very concerned about the food of his officials. Officials of different levels received different subsidies for meals, and the ones who received the best treatment were the central officials who went out to work.
When Chen Longzheng returned, it was lunchtime. The officials he met were all in a hurry to eat. When they saw Chen Longzheng return, they all greeted him.
Chen Longzheng was the deputy of Governor Xu Guangqi, and he was also an old follower of the current Emperor when he was still in Myanmar. Xu Guangqi was regarded by everyone as the successor of the Prime Minister of the Empire, so Chen Longzheng was also regarded as the successor of Xu Guangqi.
There were quite a few people who wanted to build a good relationship with Chen Longzheng.
However, seeing that Chen Longzheng's complexion was not very good, these people did not directly approach Chen Longzheng. Instead, they decisively left after greeting him, and at the same time, they quietly exchanged their opinions.
Chen Longzheng returned to his office in a panic. He closed the door and sat down, panting.
On the way back, his heart was filled with fear and panic. He almost had no time to think about what he had done. But when he arrived in Xi 'an, when he smelled the familiar aroma of meat, a strong sense of guilt suddenly surged in his heart.
I …
Betrayed my teacher?
I …
Destroyed my own promise?
I …
Turn my back on my ideals and personality as a person?
What did I do?
Chen Longzheng covered his face with his hands. He felt an extreme pain in his heart, as if his heart was being stabbed by a knife. It was as if he had lost something important that he could never obtain again.
He recalled what Yuan Huang had taught him when he was young. He recalled how he and Yuan Yan stole food together when they were young. He recalled how intimate and ambitious they used to be.
But now, he realized that everything was far away from him and would never come back.
He had betrayed his teacher, his good friend, and his promise. He was no longer the person he was familiar with. He felt that he didn't even know who he was right now. He was a very strange existence.
Why had he been so decisive when leaving the capital? Why had he been so panicked?
Why?
Chen Longzheng fell into deep pain.
Suddenly, there was a light knock on the door.
"Tilong? I heard that you came back. Why didn't you come to find me? "
Xu Guangqi's voice came from outside the door. Chen Longzheng was taken aback. He immediately stood up, walked to the door, and opened it.
"Tilong, what's wrong?"
Xu Guangqi was shocked to see Chen Longzheng's reddened eyes, as if he had just shed tears.
"I …"
Before Chen Longzheng could say anything, Xu Guangqi hurriedly looked around. Seeing that there was no one around, he pushed Chen Longzheng into the room. "Let's talk inside."
After entering, Xu Guangqi closed the door and turned to look at Chen Longzheng, whose eyes were reddened.
"Tilong, you … Did something happen at home? Did something happen to your family? Are you sick or injured? "
Chen Longzheng looked at Xu Guangqi's concerned eyes. After hesitating for a long time, he still told Xu Guangqi about what happened in the capital. He felt that if he didn't find someone to talk to, he would go crazy.
With Chen Longzheng's narration, Xu Guangqi gradually understood the whole picture of this matter.
"… I don't know how I left the capital. I felt that when I came back to my senses, I was already in Shanxi. However, I didn't even have the courage to look back. I kept feeling that something was chasing me. If I stopped, I would die.
I didn't want to die, so I urged the horse forward. But when I was about to reach Xi 'an, I suddenly remembered that I seemed to have betrayed my teacher. I abandoned my teacher, I abandoned him, and I abandoned my childhood friends. I abandoned them all.
I was scared, I was really scared. Governor, when Chen Chong told me that I would be implicated, I was scared out of my wits. I sat in the restaurant for a long time. Then, I stood up and ran outside. I didn't want to stop at all.
When I ran, I didn't think of Teacher or Ruosi at all. When I sat down, I realized that I had done such a shameful thing. Governor, I … just what did I do … "
Chen Longzheng began to cry in front of Xu Guangqi. He cried very softly, as if even crying made him feel ashamed.
Xu Guangqi looked at the crying Chen Longzheng and suddenly thought of the time when he had been moved by Xiao Ruxun's letter. After that, he had risked his life to go to Datong to find Xiao Ruxun.
At that time, would he have thought of this day?
Things remained the same, but people had changed. He finally understood why, since ancient times, people said that being in the king's company was like being in the company of a tiger.
As long as one sat in that position, no matter who they were, they would never be the same.
Xiao Ruxun was still that Xiao Ruxun, but he was also not that Xiao Ruxun. Chen Longzheng was too idealistic. When he was with him, Xu Guangqi even felt like he was reading the Book of Odes — free, romantic, elegant, and beautiful.
But now, this romantic person was crying like a child in front of him.
Perhaps after crying, that romantic Chen Longzheng would no longer exist.
Your Majesty, you are a little too cruel.
Xu Guangqi closed his eyes in pain.
Although he knew that from the day Xiao Ruxun became emperor, he knew that this moment would come sooner or later, he did not expect that it would start with Yuan Huang.
He remembered that in the past, people in the officialdom of the Daming said that the officials of the Daming Dynasty were more difficult to be than the officials of the previous dynasties. But now, it seemed that the officials of the Daqin Dynasty seemed to be a little more difficult to be than the officials of the Daming Dynasty.
At least the officialdom of the Daming Dynasty could tolerate some hotheads and some romantic guys, but the Daqin Dynasty did not seem to be able to tolerate them.
Are you a Legalist? Are you a Mohists? Are you a Confucianist? Are you a Taoist?
Xu Guangqi did not know which theory Xiao Ruxun used to govern the Daqin Dynasty. What orthodox official ideology did the Daqin Dynasty have? The Daqin Dynasty seemed to be different from the previous dynasties, but the Daqin Dynasty seemed to be the same as the previous dynasties.
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
