As for the Beimang Empress's funeral, it was destined to be kept a secret. When the old woman refused to "add oil" to the Celestial, she knew that she did not have much time left. Thus, she had informed the Taiping Magistrate and Li Mibi that if she could not survive the Battle of North Jiebei, she would use the excuse of being exposed to the autumn cold to let the Taiping Magistrate handle all government affairs. She had already changed the people in charge of the Big and Small Seals to the Taiping Magistrate's trusted aides. When the Taiping Magistrate said that she was a true hero, he was speaking from the bottom of his heart. Yelu Hongcai, an old official who had followed the orders of three dynasties, was bound to die. If it were not for Li Mibi, who could barely hold back the First Master of the Chess and Sword Music School, no one in the grassland could challenge her. It was very likely that the next ruler of the grassland would be in her hands. After all, the Empress did not mention who she wanted to inherit the throne. In her last words, she was still very cold to her son, Yelu Hongcai. "My descendants are not like me." This sentence had been widely spread in the grassland. Fortunately, the word "xiao" was not replaced with filial piety. Otherwise, Yelu Hongcai would not be able to eat or sleep. After all, the mediocre descendants were not like the heroic ancestors. Each generation was worse than the last. This could be explained by the will of the heavens. To a certain extent, the reason why Yelu Hongcai could live until today and even control 400,000 soldiers was because of the "weak Crown Prince is not like the iron-blooded Empress." Otherwise, how could the cub survive when the two tigers fought?
Li Mibi's words did not cause the Taiping Magistrate's face to change at all.
This old man who had once said that he would use black and white to buy peace was now thinking about the weight of some chess pieces.
Crown Prince Yelu Hongcai was naturally not as mediocre and useless as people thought. However, the private meeting with Wang Du had caused the Crown Prince to completely lose the Empress's favor.
The Empress had always thought highly of the youngest general in the grassland, Dong Zhuo. However, he was ambitious and difficult to control. Even the best person in the world could do the worst thing in the world if he became the Empress. The common people in the world could be divided into two types of people: the Empress and everyone else.
Would Yelu Dongcai be unable to recover after losing the protection of his grandfather, Yelu Hongcai?
Could the Murong Family's treasured cauldron become the life-saving talisman for the entire Murong Family?
Could Tuoba Bodhisattva, the loyal guardian of the grassland, have also thought of wearing the yellow robe? After all, to Tuoba Bodhisattva, the presence or absence of His Majesty made a world of difference.
…
Taiping Ling finally came to his senses and turned his head with a smile. "You, Xu Huainan, and I seem to have all lost."
Li Mibi, who had never expected the Taiping Order to say this, stared blankly for a moment. Then he put his hands behind his back and sneered, "Everyone has their own way of living. Xu Huainan's thoughts are the deepest, so his life is the most tiring. You're not any better. People who know how to play chess tend to have a strong desire for victory. I'm the only one who thinks the least and has the easiest life. "
Taiping Ling chuckled softly. "You didn't think the least, but admitted defeat the earliest."
The expressionless spy neither admitted nor denied it.
The Peace Order sighed. "I'll have to trouble you from now on."
Li Mibi said unhappily, "It's my duty. What trouble?"
Taiping Ling patted Li Mibi's shoulder and joked, "That's right. You're the kind of person who likes to hide and scheme against others. You should be enjoying it."
Beimang's Shadow Prime Minister, who was used to being alone, was obviously not used to the other person's actions. He frowned, but some of the depression in his heart dissipated.
The night was dark.
Outside the house, the two elders with the greatest authority in the grassland walked down the steps one after another and parted ways at the door of the small courtyard.
After Taiping Ling had walked far away, he suddenly turned his head back. Tears streamed down his face as he muttered, "Miss Murong, Miss Murong …"
On the sickbed in the house, the old woman gently grabbed an old mink coat on the side and covered herself with it. She slowly fell asleep.
Her withered fingers gently brushed the mink coat.
Just like that little girl whose face and peach blossom blushed, she was in a foreign country. The first time she saw that young man from Liaodong, she felt as if she was bathed in a spring breeze.
— —
The third year of Xiangfu, winter.
The central plains were not stable. The situation in Guangling, Jiangnan, and North instantly took a turn for the worse. This was because the King of Shu, Chen Zhibao, and the Crown Prince of Yan Chi, Zhao Zhu, went to the tent of Wu Zhongxuan's army without any retinue. They persuaded the South Conquering General, who held the title of Minister of War, to change sides again.
The rebel army went up north. Lu Shengxiang, whose army was stationed in the south of the capital, fell into a perilous situation in the blink of an eye.
When the Huangzi officials of the Great Peace Palace heard this shocking news, everyone panicked like ants in a hot pot.
Tantanon, who had already resigned due to illness, had no choice but to participate in the court meetings again. Only then did the people calm down.
In the middle of winter, the weather was cold and people's hearts were cold.
A carriage slowly drove out of the Huan Manor and came to a dilapidated manor just a street away. The signboard had been taken down long ago, and it was an ownerless place.
The old man carried two jugs of wine and walked down the carriage. He walked up the steps and reached out to tear off the seal on the door.
There were a few Zhao Gou spies hiding in the shadows. Although they were of high rank, they tactfully ignored him.
The old man hugged the two jugs of wine to his chest and pushed open the door with great difficulty with one hand.
The old man familiarly walked around the corridors and came directly to the study. Some books had already been moved away, some were still left. The ones that were moved away were just collecting dust. It was just a change of location.
There was still only one chair in the study.
Thinking back to the past, in the court, other than Zhao Li and Zhao Dun, the two Kings of Li Yang, probably only he, Huan Wen, could casually sit here and take over the place with a clear conscience.
Huan Wen walked around the empty study table and placed the two jugs of wine on the table. He used his sleeve to wipe away the thick dust before slowly sitting down. If it was in the past, that purple bearded and blue eyed man would be standing by the window.
Tantanon looked at the window and said softly, "Blue eyed man, look. You threw away your responsibilities and left. You didn't get the peace and prosperity in your heart. You only got this messy situation. Don't you feel guilty? You, it's lucky you died early. Otherwise, you would regret it to death! "
The old man snorted coldly. "It's lucky you weren't here. Otherwise, I really wanted to slap you on the head. I really wanted to slap you, not to scare you."
The old man sank into silence.
It was unknown whether Guangling Jiedushi Lu Baijie was dead or alive. Administrator Wang Xionggui had been exiled for some reason. Whether it was his life or his reputation, he had escaped. In the end, he was about to return to the capital under the escort of Lu Shengxiang.
In the matter of welcoming Wang Xionggui back to the capital, the Grand Peace City court still had the leisure to argue. Originally, Wang Xionggui was the successor of Zhang Lu, the former Minister of Revenue, and the current Administrator of the First Way.
It was natural that Sima Puhua, the Minister of Rites, would come out of the city to welcome him. However, the fall of Guangling Dao had caused half of the country to be ruined. Wang Xionggui was in dire straits. Even if he returned to Grand Peace City alive, his future days would be bleak. It was easy to imagine. The position of the Ministry of Rites yamen in the Liyang imperial court grew higher and higher. Right now, it was only second to the Ministry of Appointments, the Ministry of Appointments, which was second only to the Heavenly Official Yin Maochun. Sima Puhua was worried that his reputation in the capital would be damaged. He was even more afraid that Wang Xionggui would implicate him and vent his anger on the young Emperor. Naturally, he was not willing to personally take over the hot potato that was Wang Xionggui. The second-in-command of the Ministry of Rites, Jin Lanting, had publicly scolded Wang Xionggui many times at scholarly poetry gatherings. He would not come out of the city to welcome him. Thus, it was the pitiful Right Assistant Minister Jiang Yongle's turn. In reality, the Liaodong scholar group that had recently risen in the court was determined to beat the Administrator, who had always been close to the Jiangnan scholars. They wantonly proclaimed in Grand Peace City that Wang Xionggui could not bear the heavy responsibility. If Qi Yanglong hadn't made the final decision and stopped the increasingly fierce crusade, Wang Xionggui probably wouldn't have been greeted by the Right Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Rites, but by the officials of the Ministry of Justice with shackles.
Huan Wen was used to the ebb and flow of the officialdom, so he didn't feel much about it. He just felt a little discouraged.
In times of peace and prosperity, the civil officials' words were too extreme, just like the comments they made about the butcher Xu Xiao during Yonghui's reign. It was harmless, and Lame Xu, who was far away in the northwest, didn't bother to make a fuss about it.
But now was not the same as back then. They couldn't be mentioned in the same breath.
Huan Wen couldn't help but think of that young man, the youngest son of the blue-eyed man, Zhang Bian Guan. He was said to be the son of the most distinguished official in the capital but had no rank. He was said to be a good-for-nothing who didn't even dare to bully men and seize women. He was neither high nor low. The young man didn't rely on either side, so he didn't like to talk to anyone.
Of the children of the blue-eyed man, only Zhang Bian Guan was the one he liked the most. He wasn't afraid to see him and dared to make any jokes.
Huan Wen heard that after Zhang Bian Guan left the Zhang Fu, he married a woman from a small family. He lived an ordinary life in the streets. What he liked to do the most was to wander around and watch those pigeons fly in the sky of Great Peace City. Day after day, year after year.
Unfortunately, in the end, this young man who stood aloof from worldly affairs had died.
The old man opened a jug of wine, raised his head and drank. He suddenly felt slightly sorrowful.
The old man held the jug of wine and walked to the window. He pushed open the window and looked at the gray sky.
It's late and it's snowing. Can I drink a cup?
How could one cup be enough! A jug was just enough.
The old man drank a mouthful of wine, wiped the corner of his mouth, and said with a smile, "Ha, you can't drink this kind of fine wine. You'll be starved to death."
This Tantanon who had been in a high position for three dynasties sighed and said in a small voice, "I almost forgot, you are someone who doesn't like to drink."
The old man said angrily like a child, "There is someone in the world who doesn't like to drink! Preposterous! "
Tantanon leaned against the window and looked at the desk. He took small sips of wine and quickly drank more than half of it. His eyes were slightly hazy.
A little tipsy but not completely drunk, this was the end of life.
The old man seemed to see a scholar with a purple beard and blue eyes sitting upright behind the desk, looking at him with a smile.
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