The Ministry of Rites yamen that cared so much about face took up a lot of space, so Yuan Guo naturally had his own private room. When he got close to the door, Minister Yuan chuckled and rushed into the room. He bent down to pick up a book, and only then did he clear a path. He placed it on a chair that was already on the verge of falling over. It swayed but didn't fall over. It was clear that practice made perfect. The study in Yuan Guo's mansion was probably as messy as this. Yuan Guo moved the books on the chair with great difficulty. Lu Baijie waved his hand and smiled. "I'm not sitting. There's only one chair. If I sit here, wouldn't it be like a dove taking over a magpie's nest? Minister Yuan, you're not afraid of being laughed at, but I'm afraid people will say that the Ministry of War is suppressing the Ministry of Rites."
Yuan Guo laughed. "It's not like the Ministry of War has been suppressing the Ministry of Rites for just a day or two. Sir Lu, don't take advantage of it."
Lu Baijie said straightforwardly, "Don't give me that. In the past, the Ministry of War treated the other five ministries equally and bullied them all. In any case, they didn't worry about scarcity but about inequality. So we still don't know who's the one taking advantage."
Yuan Guo touched his slightly red nose. "I didn't care in the past, but in the future, if the Ministry of War dares to come to the Ministry of Rites to scare people, I'll go to the Ministry of War and curse people in the streets."
Lu Baijie didn't comment. He looked around and sighed. Lu Baijie was born in the Lu family of Yangzhou, which had the reputation of a "dazzling line-up." His brother, Lu Daolin, had resigned from the Imperial College and profited from the misfortune. He became the Minister of Rites and was the previous owner of this house. Lu Baijie had just entered the capital and had been here once. Today was his second time. Lu Baijie had a very good relationship with his brother. It could even be said that the reason why Lu Daolin, who was like a father, left the court and retired to the mountains, was mostly to make room for his younger brother. Otherwise, the two brothers would have two ministers. Not only would the aristocratic families in Yangzhou be anxious, but there would also be criticism in the capital. When Lu Baijie was still in the wilderness, he lived in the Garden of Retreat for a long time. Lu Daolin had 'retreated' twice in succession, so he had a lot of feelings for his younger brother that could only be understood, but could not be described in words. This was the knowledge that the sages rarely imparted. Yuan Guo slapped his head and pretended to be angry. "Well done, Sword Immortal Tangxi. So the reason why you took over my place was because you were scolding me for stealing Mr. Lu's house?"
Lu Baijie didn't refute. She smiled and asked, "Where did you hide the wine?"
Yuan Guo glared at him. "It's long gone!"
Lu Baijie said with a playful smile, "Do you think my reputation as Sword Immortal Tangxi is just a bluff? Even if I don't practice the sword anymore, how can I not smell the aroma of this wine? "
Yuan Guo spread his hands. "There's really nothing left."
Lu Baijie walked to the corner of the room, opened a pile of books, picked up a pot of wine, and shook it. Yuan Guo let out a dry laugh and hurriedly took out two wine cups hidden under the desk. He wiped them with his sleeve and gave each of them a cup, afraid that Sword Immortal Tangxi would steal the wine. "I'm not worried that the wine will cause trouble," he muttered. "If Lord Lu's important military affairs are delayed, I won't be able to bear the consequences. However, I had a flash of inspiration just now. Lord Lu's swordsmanship is outstanding, so presumably your alcohol tolerance isn't bad either. Drinking a cup or two shouldn't be a problem. Come come come, let's drink a little, drink a little, just drink a little. "
Lu Baijie straightforwardly sat down on the floor. Yuan Guo placed a stack of books under his butt. The former drained the wine in her cup in one gulp, while the latter narrowed his eyes and drank slowly.
Lu Baijie smiled and said, "Let's have a little drunken chat?"
Yuan Guo glanced at the door. Perhaps he remembered that Minister Lu was an outstanding martial arts expert, so he withdrew his gaze and nodded.
"What's going on? On my way here, I understood some things, but there are still some things I don't understand. "
"You and I got up and forgot, and didn't spread drunken chatter?"
"Drunken chatter."
"The Ministry of War grasps many secrets that the Five Divisions don't know. Lu Baijie, it's not difficult for you to understand the differences between the Grand Secretary and Old Master Huan. What you don't understand is why Old Master Huan didn't discuss things properly in the study of either side's mansion. Why did he openly confront each other in the court, right? "
"En."
"The reason why you don't understand is because you also know that many people mistakenly believe that today's court assembly seems to have revealed a sign. In the past Yong Hui year, for more than twenty years, apart from His Majesty, the Grand Secretary considered no one beneath him. Finally, in the first year of Xiangfu year, he quickly went downhill. It was time for him to gradually lower his head to the west. However, this is an extremely preposterous illusion. You and I are both well aware of this. Zhang Lu, after all these years, destroyed his own courtyard walls, abandoning Zhao Youling who was the most knowledgeable in Yong Hui, abandoning the experienced and prudent Han Lin. Of course, I, Yuan Guo, who didn't think to advance, didn't accomplish anything, so I was naturally abandoned early on. In the end, he only supported a Wang Xionggui who didn't seem to have the qualifications to be a prime minister, to the extent where even Hanlin Academy was swept out of the door, given to Yin Maochun. Why? What was the Grand Secretary thinking? It was extremely simple. In Liyang imperial court, Grand Secretary Zhang never felt that there was anyone who was his political enemy. As long as he stood in the court, there was a saying that went, 'When spring comes, if I don't open my mouth first, which bug dares to make a sound?' In the past twenty years, there has only been one person who could make a sound. In the future, if this person dies first, and then Grand Secretary Zhang dies later, then there won't be a single person left. "
"I understand."
The room entered a state of silence.
Yuan Guo's eyes were hazy with tears. He directly picked up the wine pot and poured a mouthful of wine, asking, "Do you truly understand?"
Yuan Guo answered his own question. "You don't understand!"
Lu Baijie released a sigh. Without saying anything, she got up and left, helping close the door.
Sitting alone in the room, Yuan Guo cried and laughed. The Minister of Justice who didn't drink much actually seemed to have forgotten himself after getting drunk. "What you don't understand is that Yuan Guo's benevolent teacher, our Grand Secretary, once West Chu's war is defeated, the Grand Secretary whose vision is like a torch will win face, but completely lose the court, even His Majesty the Emperor who is known for his magnanimity will no longer tolerate him. That is why in today's court assembly, he is seeking a path of retreat for Old Master Huan, forcing himself onto the path of death!"
Yuan Guo fell backwards. The Minister of Rites who cherished wine like his own life threw away the wine pot, sobbing uncontrollably. "Us scholars don't fear death, but benevolent teacher, why do you have to die in such a miserable manner?"
— —
Today, Zhang Julu purposely let himself have nothing to do, also not thinking about things. Only then did he have the chance to go to an old and established restaurant that he had been interested in for a long time, drink a small half pot of aged wine. However, it didn't seem as delicious as Huan Wen and the others said it was. Because he didn't take off his court uniform, the Grand Secretary's honorable self's visit made the restaurant's people feel both honored and fearful. Looking at the Grand Secretary from the distance, as long as this elder's chopsticks moved a bit slower, they all felt like they were about to be dragged out and beheaded. It really was because the Grand Secretary had never made an appearance in public in the capital. He wasn't like the other important ministers and leaders of the six ministries, each of them having their own temperament and hobbies, all of them having quiet places they often visited. However, Grand Secretary Zhang was different, forever only appearing in two places: the Minister Manor and the Imperial Palace. That was why this news spread with astonishing speed. However, there wasn't a single busybody who dared come over to join in on the fun. This was perhaps where Zhang Julu was truly terrifying. The number one young master in the capital, Wang Xionggui's youngest son Wang Yuanran, who claimed to be a man who openly challenged Beiliang and His Royal Highness, had the fortune of following his father to Zhang Manor to pay a new year's visit once in his youth. However, he was indifferently glanced at by the Grand Secretary, and from then on, he never went to Zhang Manor even if he was beaten to death. Great Generals Zhao Jiao and Yang Shenxing, who established themselves in the Spring and Autumn Period, their descendants could be considered Liyang's most elite military descendants, yet they still hadn't seen this head of hundreds of officials in twenty to thirty years. It wasn't like a mouse seeing a cat, but rather a mouse seeing a tiger, giving others the feeling that they would lose a piece of flesh if they saw him once. Even the First Prince Zhao Wu, who had the most hope in the past, after provoking the Grand Secretary's precious daughter, he similarly couldn't bear the consequences. Zhang Julu didn't even need to say a single word. Even a pure prince was like this, let alone the imperial relatives who were estranged from the current Emperor's bloodline, those pitiful people who were originally suppressed to death by Zhang Julu when he first came to power, who had always felt indignant, but didn't dare speak up.
This old man who was very easily and indeed gradually aging, but who always made others forget his age, wasn't greedy for money, wasn't fond of beauties, didn't like delicacies, didn't like clear conversations, didn't worship Buddhism, didn't pass down poems. Everyone with intentions was waiting for him to make a mistake, yet he didn't.
Just like that, day after day, year after year, he went back and forth between the mansion and the Imperial Palace. It was dull and tedious, but also impeccable. For an entire twenty years, there was no one who could be called below one person and above ten thousand people.
Zhang Julu raised his head and put down his chopsticks. He saw a familiar clear and beautiful face. She sat across from him at the table, propping up her cheeks. She had the same charming smile as her mother when she was young.
The Grand Secretary laughed softly and said, "My drinking has even startled the great heroine Zhang?"
Zhang Gaoxia still propped up her cheeks with both hands, blinking her eyes.
Zhang Julu smiled and said, "Speak, other than looking at father, what else do you want from father? This time, I'll make an exception and agree to it first."
Zhang Gaoxia giggled and said, "Little sister-in-law just complained to me. She said that this spring, second brother ran out every two to three days to borrow money to drink with prostitutes, and also had thoughts of taking in a concubine. Taking in a concubine is one thing, but that woman was from a brothel. Little sister-in-law couldn't persuade the stubborn third brother, so she could only pull me into her camp. I secretly went to see that woman. It didn't matter if she was from a brothel or not, but she was really fickle. Father, aren't you afraid of bringing shame to the family? "
Zhang Julu frowned.
Zhang Gaoxia raised her voice and said, "Father, you promised your daughter."
Zhang Julu's brows relaxed and he nodded.
Zhang Gaoxia, who originally didn't have any expectations, widened her eyes. However, something even more inconceivable was yet to come. Outside, it was the Grand Secretary, and at home, it was the Grand Secretary's father. He actually said, "Go take a look at your third brother's mansion."
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