Li Yijie followed Tang Yuancheng all the way until they reached a secluded area. He looked around and saw no one was around. Then he stopped and said in a lukewarm voice, "If you have something to say, say it here." He still had not completely let go of what happened in the past, he did not want to be entangled with him in the Palace.
"Li Dage …" Tang Yuancheng began. Li Yijie cut him off, "No need to be so affectionate. I can't afford to be Tang Shaoshi's Dage. I always have a bad feeling about it. Just call me Lord Li, I will be relieved to hear it. " Tang Yuancheng helplessly said, "Li Dage, in the past you saved my life. I have no way to repay your great kindness, but Xiaodi will always remember it in my heart. Why are you and I so unfamiliar with each other now? "
"Humph," Li Yijie coldly said, "If we are unfamiliar with each other, is it because of me? Isn't it because you consider yourself the Crown Prince's Shaoshi, and want to draw a clear line between you and me, a lowly official? "" Li Dage, "Tang Yuancheng said," Xiaodi does not know what mistake I have made that you have this kind of misunderstanding. But today I am not here to argue with you, I am here to give you some advice on how to be an official, so that in the future if Dage stays in the officialdom for a long time, it will be easier for you to establish yourself. "
Seeing his condescending attitude, Li Yijie's heart was filled with resentment. "Tang Shaoshi," he said with a cold laugh, "You teach people to study literature, aren't you used to put on the airs of a teacher? Too bad I am not your student, so I don't need your advice on how to be an official. If there is nothing else, I will take my leave. "
Tang Yuancheng sternly said, "Li Dage! I sincerely regard you as my Dage and respect you. I cannot bear to see you fall into this kind of situation, so I kindly give you some advice. Otherwise, if you are an idle person without the least bit of friendship, how can I have time to care about you? Even if you want to be stubborn, it is not something I can change with my meager strength. But if you think you are doing the right thing, listen to my advice, it won't sway your mind, so what's the harm in that? "
Li Yijie thought these words were not bad. If he insisted on leaving, he would appear to have a guilty conscience, so that he did not even dare to listen. He snorted, "Fine, I'll listen to what you have to say."
Tang Yuancheng breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Actually, I've never changed. It's just that the officialdom is a dark place, and there are many times when you can't control yourself. No matter how high or low an official was, there were countless spies planted around them. The so-called 'walls have ears' was still too one-sided. In reality, there were countless ears everywhere at all times. If one's words and actions were slightly out of line, disaster would immediately befall them. Big Brother Li, do you think that my life in the palace is very good? You heard what Lord Lu said just now. I believe that there are indeed such rumors. They have been circulating for many years, and there must be many busybodies who are still talking about it. But on the surface, it was still a pool of calm water, as if everyone respected me as a high-ranking official. Why was that? Why was Big Brother the only one being ostracized? I'm not boasting, but although I entered the palace later than you, the experience I've accumulated far exceeds yours. Do you think this is an uninhabited village? Do you think you can live a peaceful life just by following the Noble Consort Yun? You can ignore it, but there are many people in the palace who see you as a thorn in their side. You also know that you're not favored by any important master right now. If you eat and live in the Snow Song Palace for free, even if the outsiders don't have any ill intentions, they will certainly stir up gossip. You dare to speak up for justice, and you have the demeanor of a hero in Jianghu. But in the palace, this won't work. If you casually flatter the bureaucrats and become friends with them, even if it's just a facade, it will make others fear you, thinking that you're powerful and won't dare to touch you easily. Of course, I'm not advising you to curry favor with them without any principles. The more you bow and scrape, the more the other party will despise you and order you around like a slave. In any case, they came to you on their own accord, so why not use them? If they respect you, you should return them with a foot. You'll call it even. Furthermore, even if you hear someone criticizing you behind your back, and it happens to be someone close to you, you shouldn't go and argue with them. Think about it: It's already pretty good. At least they're polite in front of you and give you enough face. People who are worthy of being hypocritical and perfunctory must have a certain value. Don't be angry. Having this value is a blessing, not a disaster. Think about it, they're holding it in outside, but they're not allowed to vent behind your back? But they're definitely not asking you to be blind. They're just giving you face, so you should return the favor. If you shed all pretense of cordiality, it won't look good for anyone. "
Li Yijie listened to him talk about superficial principles and the four words "protect yourself before others". He felt disdain in his heart and snorted coldly, "Young Master Tang, you're eloquent. Do you think this is an essay for the imperial examination? Unfortunately, your thinking is too extreme. I'm afraid it won't be to the examiners' liking. Can't you be honest and let everyone sincerely accept you, so naturally, there won't be any criticism? "
Tang Yuancheng said, "That's impossible. Not to mention that no one is perfect, even if everything is perfect, it's impossible for everyone to like you. If you do well, your superiors will admire you, but your subordinates will resent you. If you don't do well, your superiors will disdain you, and your subordinates will pretend to obey but secretly oppose you. However, to become a high-ranking official, you must first have power in the palm of your hand, so naturally you'll attract others to curry favor with you. The two of us have both lectured the Lord Baylor Ling on civil and military matters. However, Li Dage has not been conferred a formal official position, while I have long been the Crown Prince's Young Master. This is related to the art of playing both sides. Of course, being opportunistic is not a good strategy. One must have enough ability to be competent. "
Li Yijie said, "Are you trying to say that I don't have the ability?"
Tang Yuancheng said, "Ability alone is not enough, but you need others to give you the opportunity to show it. This Palace is like a big dye vat, no one can stay out of it. The Emperor is worried that his subordinates will rebel. The high-ranking officials are 'accompanying the Emperor is like accompanying a tiger'. The low-ranking officials don't know when they've provoked the anger of their superiors. They can casually add a crime on you, and your head will fall to the ground. Logically speaking, those servants should respect you a bit, but have you ever heard of the saying 'a dog relying on its master's power'? They know that you're just a loner, while they themselves are Noble Consort Yun's trusted aide, therefore, they can bully and humiliate you without the slightest scruple. You can meet force with force with force against one or two people, but if the whole world is your enemy, no matter how high your ability is, it's useless. Actually, I don't understand Wulin's affairs, but now I'll take this opportunity to talk about it. The Devil Cult has dominated the Jianghu for many years, how did they manage to wipe them out so smoothly this time? Wasn't it because people from all sects worked together for a common purpose, their will as strong as an impregnable fortress? That Hierarch Jiang could be considered a capable person skilled in both civil and military matters, but in the end … although he was rescued, he could only flee to the wilderness and hide to the east. Dage, your current shortcoming is that you are too outspoken. Upholding justice is not wrong, but the key is upholding it in your heart. No matter how loud you shout it verbally, it doesn't mean anything. If you don't believe me, you can go and count. Since ancient times, hasn't it been that the louder you shout the slogan of benevolence and righteousness, the more wicked you are? If people don't want to hear it, don't say it. If you really don't want to say one thing and mean another, try to change the topic as much as possible. For example, just now at the banquet, I didn't want to slander Li Dage, but I also couldn't offend Noble Consort Yun. Therefore, I wanted to draw everyone's attention to the stage, but you and Xiao Xuan insisted on each person speaking, bringing the topic back to the deadlock, wasting my painstaking efforts. I'm not blaming Dage, it's just that Xiaodi lamented in my heart. "
Listening to him speak, Li Yijie's suspicions were finally dispelled, and he more or less agreed with his point of view. He thought that he was indeed acting in a moment of anger, making everyone unhappy. Tang Yuancheng wanted to help him, but he was still angry that Li Yijie was harboring malicious intentions, and he was also jealous that Li Yijie was mingling better in the officialdom than he was. Who would have thought that the path of an official was even more difficult? He sighed and said apologetically, "Tang Xiongdi … Yuancheng, I'm really sorry."
Tang Yuancheng laughed and said, "Dage, don't be so polite. I wasted a lot of time talking. If I can finally convince you to understand, it'll be worth it. Also, I have to remind you that everyone has a protective heart. In front of Noble Consort Yun, it's best not to speak ill of the Lord Baylor Ling. Otherwise, even if she knows in her heart that it's her son's fault, in the long run, if you always don't give her face, she'll definitely be fed up with you. Therefore, there's no harm in praising him a little more. At this age, a boy's heart is higher than the sky, what he needs the most is other people's approval. If you ask me, you'd better make friends with him first, let him accept you from the bottom of his heart, and then learn martial arts from you, he'll work even harder. Later on, if he says a few good words about you to Noble Consort Yun, it'll be more useful than you doing ten, eight great good deeds yourself. If you still trust Xiaodi, you can try this method. Children don't know anything, you don't have to be too serious with him. Occasionally he's mischievous, it's his nature. Looking at it from a better perspective, it's simple and adorable. In the past, I studied by myself, plus I was in the prime of my life. If there was a teacher teaching me, and he treated me very badly, if it was me, I would not accept his discipline. It's better to subdue people with virtue than to subdue people with might. It's like this for an emperor, it's also the same for teaching his disciples and subordinates. "
Li Yijie sighed and said, "How could I not want to? But seeing Xuan Shuang is always unwilling to concentrate on martial arts, how can I not be anxious? If he talks back a few more times, I'll be even angrier. "
Tang Yuancheng said, "That's why I have to restrain him. It's not easy, but it's not impossible either. Xuan Shuang, this child, is indeed very talented. When I teach him to read, he'll often be able to read it once, plus he has a photographic memory. A few days later, he'll still be able to read it easily. I've also seen him riding a horse and hunting, he's really extraordinarily agile. Perhaps he can't learn martial arts well right now, it's just because he has no interest in other things. No matter how talented he is, if he doesn't learn, it'll be useless in the end. Perhaps I'm a civil official, I don't know too much about the truth of martial arts, so I don't have the qualifications to rashly comment. But the way of civil and martial arts, one is tense, the other is relaxed, the two can't be polar opposites. Perhaps the next time you teach him martial arts, I'll come with you and watch from the side. If you can't control your temper again, I'll be able to remind you in time. What do you think? "
With a bitter smile Li Yijie said, "About this, I'll be honest with you, don't be angry. You speak as if you're telling the truth, but I can't tell whether you're sincerely trying to help me, or you're still trying to be tactful and sophisticated, so you're just being perfunctory. "
Tang Yuancheng sighed and said, "Li Dage's suspicion is not surprising at all. On the contrary, Xiaodi is somewhat gratified that you finally have some understanding of how to guard against the officialdom. I don't want to explain too much, the more I explain, the worse it will be. As the saying goes, time will reveal a person's heart. Whether I have good intentions or bad intentions, let time be the witness! "
Li Yijie felt slightly embarrassed. "Yuancheng," he said, "I've really lost my head. You've been so good to me, how could I suspect you? It's just that there's one thing I don't understand. Since you're already familiar with the filth of the officialdom, and disdain to be associated with it, why are you still staying in the Palace and not looking for another way out? I believe that with your talent, you shouldn't be unable to find a job. "
Tang Yuancheng said, "I do hate the intrigue and infighting in the officialdom. But people have responsibilities. I've been teaching Xuan Shuang for so long, I can't just suddenly abandon him and leave. Moreover, my grandma lived frugally, she would rather starve and suffer the cold to save all her savings so that I could study. After more than ten years of studying hard, with great difficulty I finally became the Zhuangyuan in the imperial examination, became a high-ranking official, and fulfilled my grandma's expectations. How can I withdraw because of my own desire? I have an important position in the Palace, I have a high salary every month, enough to support the family, so that my grandma can enjoy the rest of her life. Third, hey, hey, I'm a bit ashamed. Although it's my own wishful thinking, I still love Yuner, I don't want to leave her side. "
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