In Liyang's officialdom, there were three similarities. That was, the Minister of Appointments, Zhao Youling, and the Assistant Minister of Works, Yuan Guo, coincidentally had the same teacher as Zhang Julu. They were both children of humble concubines from the old Northern Han's Jinmen Commandery. During the reign of Yonghui, they both participated in the imperial examinations. One was the zhuangyuan, the other was the second, causing Jinmen Commandery, which had very few Grand Scholars, to become famous overnight. The two manors were only two to three hundred paces apart. They frequently visited each other, and the neighbors were already used to it. Today, not only had Yuan Guo come to the Zhao manor, but Minister Zhao's in-law, Yin Maochun, also came. The two important officials of the court had brought their children. The juniors were all about the same age, and the children of the three surnames were also good friends. At that time, Wang Yuanran, the youngest son of the Minister of Revenue, Wang Xionggui, had drunk and molested Zhao Youling's second daughter. Of course, he had stirred up a hornet's nest. Moreover, he had beaten up the only son of the Assistant Minister of Justice, Han Xingyan, who had come out to mediate the fight. Unfortunately, he had provoked four families at once. However, it was a "blessing in disguise." As a result, Wang Yuanran's title as the number one young master in the capital was confirmed. Although he had been dragged to the Zhao manor by his father, the Minister of Revenue, to kneel for an hour in front of the Zhao manor, this did not prevent young master Wang from being in the limelight in Great 'an City. Yuan Guo had no wife or children, but he had the best relationship with children among the younger generation. While Zhao Youling and Yin Maochun, these two in-laws, were using the winter snow in the cellar to make tea, Yuan Guo was still drinking with a large group of young men and women. He personally heated up the wine and handed it over, not feeling that it was beneath him. The dozen or so juniors were used to it and actually felt that it was right and proper. For example, Yin Maochun's eldest son, Yin Changgeng, when he was young, he would sit on Uncle Yuan's neck every day and pee. The uncle and nephew even jokingly agreed that in the future, Yin Changgeng would take care of Assistant Minister Yuan in his old age and send him off when he died. Just like when Han Xingyan went to drink with prostitutes for the first time when he was young, he was tricked by the old Yuan Guo. This made the old scholar Han Lin furious, so angry that he ran to the Yuan Mansion's tightly shut main door without wearing shoes and cursing for a long time. As for Yuan Guo, he didn't feel the slightest bit guilty. When he opened the door, he would pick his ear wax with one hand and hold the wine pot he had casually stolen from the brothel with the other. With a mischievous smile, he asked Assistant Minister Han if he wanted to drink, angering Han Lin to the point that he broke off all relations with Yuan Guo. However, after this, Han Xingyan would often sneakily ask Yuan Guo for wine. Han Lin couldn't control him even if he wanted to, so he might as well not see, not be troubled by it.
Yin Changgeng and Han Xingyan, as proper officials of the capital, had both participated in that morning court session. However, their ranks weren't high enough to enter the hall, so they naturally couldn't hear the storm raging in the hall clearly. At this time, Yuan Guo was sitting on the couch, holding Yin Maochun's eldest grandson in his arms. He dipped his chopsticks in wine for the child to open his mouth and taste while vividly describing the Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea in the Imperial Court. After Assistant Minister Yuan's embellishment, everyone who heard it was shocked. Just then, Grand Secretary Zhang's unbetrothed daughter and Prime Minister Yin's youngest daughter also entered the room. Yuan Guo, like an old urchin, shamelessly asked the two girls to be his uncle and massage his shoulders. Zhang Gaoxia, who was "notorious" among the children of Great 'an City yamen, glared at him. She, who was wearing a sword, pulled it out two inches and then fiercely returned it to its scabbard. Assistant Minister Yuan, who was familiar with this heroine's temperament, could only smile awkwardly. Fortunately, Yin Heyun was much more obedient. She sat diagonally by the couch and massaged this uncle's shoulders. Yin Changgeng shot a glance at the tall Zhang Gaoxia and then quickly retracted his gaze. He chatted idly with his wife, who had returned to her maternal home today, about trivial household chores. Han Xingyan's expression didn't change. He only sighed inwardly. How could he not know brother Yin's feelings for Zhang Gaoxia? Before he became the groom, all of his friends of the same age were congratulating brother Yin on becoming Minister Zhao's son-in-law. They all said that the Yin and Zhao families were well-matched in terms of social status and that they were a perfect match. But that night, Yin Changgeng had only dragged him and Han Xingyan to a small restaurant to drink to drown their sorrows. Han Xingyan exhaled. Why else would it be said that threads of love were easy to tie and hard to untie? Speaking of which, it was strange. In terms of beauty, Zhang Gaoxia wasn't even as good as his sister-in-law. She had the same pair of blue eyes as her father, the Grand Secretary. Also, if a woman's lack of talent was a virtue, then Zhang Gaoxia really deserved to be unable to get married. She could compete with the Crown Prince Consort, who was nicknamed "female scholar," and no man could beat her. Her swordsmanship was also extraordinary. She had studied under the Dongyue Sword Pool Great Grandmaster Song Nianqing and the number one swordsman of the capital, Qi Jiajie. Naturally, she was nothing but an embroidered pillow. Even the Tangxi Sword Immortal, Lu Baijie, praised her talent in the way of the sword. The First Prince, Zhao Wu, had suffered at Zhang Gaoxia's hands. This woman was truly a heroine who could do as she pleased in Great Peace City. In any case, if she was alone, no one could beat her. Competing in family background? Sorry, her biological father was Zhang Julu, and her adoptive father was Huan Wen. There was also a large group of court officials like Yuan Guo, who had left the Zhang Faction but still cared about their relationship, supporting her. Who would dare?
Yuan Guo still wanted to take a pair of chopsticks for Prime Minister Yin's young grandson to dip in wine, but Zhang Gaoxia, who couldn't stand it anymore, snatched the child away. Yuan Guo could only change the topic and ask, "Where were we just now?"
Minister Zhao's youngest son, Zhao Wenwei, was still a youth. He said excitedly, "Uncle Yuan was just talking about how that Imperial College's Third Young Master Jin had a bloody nose and a swollen face for some reason!"
Yuan Guo chuckled and said, "That's right, this old punch was given by our Tantanon's Old Master Huan. It was truly crafty and ruthless. Poor Chancellor Jin first angered Master Yao, and now he was beaten by Old Master Huan, who was once half his official guide. Blessings never come in pairs, misfortunes never come singly. Therefore, you melon children, in the future, you must remember to tuck your tail between your legs when you become an official. Don't get too carried away. There's always a higher mountain. Whether it's Uncle Yuan or your father, their hats aren't small, right? Heh, you still can't avoid convention. "
The three families knew each other well, and with Yuan Guo around, there wasn't any taboo at all. Han Xingyan frowned and said in a low voice, "Uncle Yuan, although Chancellor Jin's hobby is to strike at Beiliang's betrayal and rely on this to gain a good name and reputation in the court, and his table manners are somewhat despicable, in the end, it's beneficial to the imperial court and the country. Furthermore, he does have a lot of brilliant ideas from a strategically advantageous position, making people can't help but slap the table in praise. He and Master Yao are at odds with each other inside and outside the Imperial College. This is a good thing for Left Servant She, so why did he have to fight? Aren't you afraid that this will enter His Majesty's ears? "
Yuan Guo slurped down a mouthful of wine and subconsciously rubbed his ears. He laughed and said, "Why would Old Master Huan care about such a trivial matter? You guys are too young. Back then, when your father and I entered the imperial court as officials, the Grand Secretary's temper was exceptionally good. The one who was worse was Old Master Huan. Uncle Yuan was pulled by the ear and scolded quite a bit back then. That's right, the matter of Old Master Huan beating up Jin Lanting, forget it if you've heard about it, but don't talk about it in this room. It won't be good if word of it gets out. Otherwise, I'll have a headache from your father's nagging. "
Yuan Guo saw that Yin Changgeng wanted to say something but stopped, so he drank all the wine in his cup in one gulp. He cried out in satisfaction and extended his cup to let Han Xingyan fill it to the brim. He grabbed a peanut and threw it into the wine cup. The wine was excellent and could hang in the cup, so even if the wine had already reached the top of the cup, it still didn't overflow at all. The assistant minister lowered his head to look at the ripples and was somewhat absent-minded. When he raised his head, he regained his composure and gently swirled the wine cup with a smile. "I know what you guys want to ask the most. It's not that I can't talk about this matter, but …"
The heroine, who was teasing Yin Maochun's grandson, said unhappily, "I'll just pretend I didn't hear it."
Yuan Guo chuckled and raised his head to drink all the strong wine in one gulp. He chewed on the peanuts that tasted full of wine and said with an intoxicated expression, "Wu Conferred the title of eighteen. The 'li' character was originally a genuine evil title. When This Old Man Song wrote 'Jie Shi', it was the late Emperor who instructed him to change this character from evil to beauty. However, it was at the bottom of the eighteen beautiful titles. The old Grand Secretary, who is also the teacher of Uncle Yuan's teacher, is the teacher of our Heroine Zhang's father. He has always held a great grudge against the King of Beiliang. The late Emperor's actions may not have been without original thoughts. This thought only surfaced during this year's Hibernation Awakening. When the current Emperor bestowed this character, he put even more thought into it. Given His Majesty's bearing, he naturally wouldn't give Great General Xu any evil titles. If he were to generously give the other seventeen beautiful titles, the Great Hall would be thrown into chaos that day. After talking about the imperial court, let's talk about Beiliang. From His Royal Highness, the young man who became the King of Beiliang from hereditary succession, should he accept this title that's neither high nor low? If he doesn't accept the imperial edict … "
Han Xingyan smiled and said, "Does this guy want to tell the world that the Xu family is going to rebel?"
Yuan Guo put down his wine cup and dismissed Han Xingyan's judgment with a smile. He continued, "If Beiliang swallows his anger and accepts this imperial edict, given Beiliang's loyalty to the old vassal king, the new vassal king will undoubtedly lose the confidence of the army and the people. It's no different from tearing down his own house. With Uncle Yuan's words, do you think the young King of Beiliang should accept the imperial edict or not? Xingyan, I'm asking you! "
Han Xingyan thought about it and smiled. "I bet that guy still doesn't dare to not accept it. He'll just try his best to minimize the big matter and pretend to be calm and do his best to suppress the matter of the posthumous title."
Yin Changgeng furrowed his brows and said, "It's difficult. The scholars are all watching. Even if Beiliang blocks the news and the people don't know much, how can so many scholars not have access to the news? What's even more difficult is that accepting the imperial edict is unfilial. The three hundred thousand cavalry will look down on the new king. If he doesn't accept it, he'll be disloyal. Many scholars rushing to Beiliang will also have thoughts. In any case, the new vassal king is destined to be difficult. If he doesn't handle it well, he won't be able to please both sides. "
Yuan Guo glanced at Zhang Gaoxia and twirled his wine cup between his fingers. He laughed softly and said, "This is just the first move in the new chess game between the imperial court and Beiliang. Next, the new vassal king will have to observe mourning for three years. No one in the imperial court is willing to ask for a revival of the love seizure for the new vassal king. This middle game, which will take three years, is even more of a headache. Even if he survives the middle game and resolves the hard-pressed internal problems, I'm afraid he'll have to face a hasty conclusion. If Beimang insists on fighting Beiliang first, heh … "
Yuan Guo didn't say anything else.
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
