roses and lilies

These days, Lao Xuan has been dazzled by this happy event. On the one hand, her daughter has a home, and she climbed the dragon and the phoenix to the high branches of King Liang. , It is no longer the lamb with blind eyes and darkness in front of him, who has neither foundation nor connections in this big imperial court, who is at the mercy of others.With the big tree of King Liang, it can be said that the wind and water are smooth and the wind and rain are called in this court.

After observing for a period of time, Lao Xuan seemed to have noticed something. There were many factions in the imperial court, fighting endlessly both openly and secretly.

In particular, Duan Zhe, the chief minister of the cabinet, is the most powerful. He has won the trust of the emperor.

As early as when Lao Xuan took office, Duan Zhe ordered someone to come to congratulate him with generous gifts, in order to win him over to join his team. He knew that the Minister of Rites was a fat vacancy with great power. There are countless people who are things. An official in this position is like sitting on a money tree. When you shake it lightly, the gold and silver will fall down one after another.

Duan Zhe originally thought that this old Xuan should be familiar with the so-called so-called sophistication of the court and the ratio of input to output, but he didn't think that after a period of observation, this old Xuan didn't take himself as the chief minister of the cabinet seriously. There is no movement at all, farting under the covers and eating alone.

It seems that if you don't give him some flair, he won't know how powerful he is. Just at this time, when he heard that Yuan Yu, the son of King Liang, married Lao Xuan's daughter, he thought, this old Xuan has climbed up to Gao Zhi'er No wonder the tone of speech has changed these days, it's not like before, humble and groveling.

In fact, since Lao Xuan took office, she has kept her hands free and devoted herself to the complicated affairs of the Ministry of Rites.Although many people gave him gifts and money, they were all politely declined by him. After all, he came from a hard life and was used to the life of suffering from hunger and cold.

In his consciousness, he feels that this rich and noble life is nothing more than eating better and dressing better. No matter how big the palace is, it is nothing more than standing in a small place and sleeping in a small bed. It is nothing more than satisfaction. It's just his own vanity, he will always remember the wise saying of Mencius, the sage of Asia in the book, that he was born in sorrow and died in peace.This person can't enjoy too much happiness, once he is too superior, too happy, then something will happen.He wished he had suffered more.It is easy to be satisfied like contentment.

Of course, Duan Zhe, chief assistant of the cabinet, would not have such thoughts as Lao Xuan. He thought that Lao Xuan was just greedy, and except for the Ministry of Rites, the other major ministers paid tribute to him from time to time!And they didn't dare to get more, they donated [-]% of the silver taels they received, and they personally only kept [-]%, the same is true for the former officials of the Ministry of Rituals!Why is this old Xuan so different?Could it be that the King of Liang couldn't support him.It seems that if you don't show him some strength, he really doesn't know how high the sky is and how thick the earth is!Thinking of this, Duan Zhe summoned ministers from the Ministry of Officials, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Punishment, the Ministry of Industry, and the Ministry of Households to discuss matters.

As the chief assistant of the cabinet, Duan Zhe is in charge of the six ministries. It can be said that he has great power. Except for the old Xuan of the Ministry of Rites who doesn't buy it, the ministers of the other ministries follow what they say and fight wherever they are directed.

Duan Zhe lowered his face, "Everyone! I called everyone here today to discuss something important! What do you think of Master Shuxuan from the Ministry of Rites?"

As soon as this remark came out, there was a lot of discussion among these ministers.What is the reason?These ministers all visited Lao Xuan's house when he took office, and these few also prepared a lot of gifts to come to Lao Xuan to do business, of course, it was all for the sake of their nephews and nephews getting fame, so that the examiner of the Ministry of Rites They take good care of them, and the exam questions can be disclosed in advance. Of course, all of this requires Lao Xuan to nod. However, Lao Xuan politely declined and returned the gifts one by one, which really disgraced these colleagues.

Lao Xuan seemed to be invulnerable, without showing any kindness at all!In the eyes of these colleagues, this old Xuan is like a different kind. When doing things in the court, people still need to talk about the world. This is convenient for others and convenient for themselves. These six major departments do not exist in isolation. If there is a connection, no one can avoid being useful to someone.Therefore, these colleagues had already suppressed Lao Xuan's anger, and when they were planning to use them, they wanted to give him some flair.

I never thought that Mr. Duan, the chief assistant of the cabinet, recruited them here today for this purpose. Hearing Mr. Duan's tone of inquiry, it seems that he also has a lot of opinions on this old Xuan!

Gan Yi, the Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, has a flexible mind and is familiar with the skill of following the wind and following the trend.He is especially good at doing things in front of him, and he is the first to speak: "Master Duan! This old Xuan is so ignorant of flattery! He doesn't buy anyone's account! We treated him right! When he took office, we were He has given him enough face, and as a colleague, he has done the utmost benevolence and righteousness. But how did he do it? Relying on the power of the King of Liang, he is ruthless and solitary in the court! What is annoying is that he only cares about himself and collects money. He is arrogant and doesn't care about his colleagues, but he doesn't even care about us Mr. Liang, it's really a bit daring! He doesn't bother me with anything. Opportunity, I have to give him some color and see!"

As soon as this remark came out, the other ministers echoed it one after another, and these words really touched Duan Zhe's heart. Among the ministers, Gan Yi was the most clever.It is also the one he admires the most. This person is like a roundworm in his belly, he can guess his own thoughts every time, so his face and expression inadvertently reveal a look of great appreciation.

Seeing Lord Duan's expression of joy, the other ministers all expressed their desire to give that old Xuan some color.

Seeing the attitudes of these ministers, Duan Zhe was also very happy. He thought that if these ministers cooperated together, then Ren Laoxuan's great ability would make him unable to get along in the court.

Lao Xuan was busy with the affairs of the Ministry of Rites day and night, and the preparations for the imperial examination were also in full swing, from setting the questions, setting up the examination room, confirming the identity of the candidates for the examination, arranging the seat number to the appointment of the examiners, reviewing the examination questions, The judging of examination papers, the ranking of grades, the drawing and posting of the list, everything is in every detail, big and small, all of which are asked.This scientific research requires a lot of manpower, material resources and financial resources.He spent several days and nights sorting out a list of property, and immediately arranged for someone to report it to the household department for review and transfer of money.However, nearly a month passed, and there was still no news. Lao Xuan couldn't help feeling anxious, so she arranged for people to urge her repeatedly, but there was still no news. How can the scientific research be arranged if the money is not in place? Well, if there is no money to implement it, it is just a bubble.

Lao Xuan's side is in a state of anxiety, and the household department just doesn't transfer the money, so what should I do?He suddenly remembered that Minister of the Household Department, Gan Yi, had come to look for him a while ago, and he had prepared a generous gift, hoping that his nephew and nephew could take care of him when he participated in the examination, but Lao Xuan politely refused.Could it be because of that time that the Minister of the Household Department was offended?Therefore, the appropriation of this sum of money was affected. After suddenly realizing it, Lao Xuan decided to personally visit the Household Minister Ganyi, who is known as the God of Wealth of the imperial court.

However, when they arrived at the House of the Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, the family members claimed that Mr. Gan was not there, but that he could see the God of Wealth in the early court, but Mr. Gan seemed to have never seen Lao Xuan, and chatted enthusiastically with those colleagues. However, Lao Xuan had the cheek to ask about the preparation fund for the scientific examination.

Ganyi is fine, but once he passes by, Lianmeng presumes that the money in the household department is tight and there is no money to approve. However, before Lao Xuan can continue to ask, this master just flicked his sleeves and said casually. drifted away.It's really dumbfounding.Anyone with a discerning eye knows that those few ministries approved the funds smoothly, but this Ministry of Rites, like a stepmother, didn't even approve half a tael of silver.

Old Xuan couldn't bear the pressure, so he had to find Mr. Duan Zhe, the chief assistant of the cabinet, to respond to the situation.Report the preparation funds for the scientific examination to the Ministry of Rites, and tell Mr. Duan about the delay in appropriating it.

Duan Zhe was very surprised and said: "If there is such a thing? This scientific examination is the most important thing. Don't you think this guy doesn't know its importance? How dare you delay the payment of the scientific examination funds? How dare you! I will take it seriously! Thoroughly investigate this matter, you go back and listen to my news."

After hearing this, Lao Xuan hurriedly bowed to salute, and couldn't help but feel extremely happy. With the words of Mr. Duan, the Chief Assistant of the Cabinet, he felt relieved!After all, this scientific research is the biggest thing for the Ministry of Rites, and it is also the thing that the emperor cares about the most. The importance of this talent to the country is self-evident. They all regard this scientific examination as the most important event.If the scientific examination is delayed, not only will I not be able to do my job as Minister of Rites, but whether I can save my life is another matter.Fortunately, Mr. Duan, the chief assistant of the cabinet, attaches great importance to it.This gave him a bit of comfort in his heart.

However, more than ten days have passed, and there is still no news, Lao Xuan is a little flustered, the Chief Assistant Duan of the cabinet has clearly promised to investigate this matter thoroughly, so many days have passed, why is there still no news? ?However, after thinking about it, he is the chief assistant of the cabinet in charge of the six ministries. In the past, it was the position of prime minister. It can be said that he is busy with many affairs, so Mr. Duan must spare time to deal with it!It is absolutely indestructible to force others, but the day of this scientific examination is approaching day by day.My heart became more and more impatient.That is, I waited for more than ten days anxiously.

Lao Xuan then realized that something was wrong, something must have gone wrong!We can no longer sit still and wait for death.He went to the door again to visit Master Shoufu Duan.

Master Duan was still very calm and was studying in the study. When he saw Lao Xuan coming in, he also greeted him very warmly: "Master Xuan! What's the matter? You are so free today, why don't you come to play chess with me? I lost your game last time." , I’ve been brooding about it for several days! Come on, let’s play two more games.”

How could Lao Xuan have the heart to play chess with him!I was so anxious, but I had to say this politely: "My lord! It's rare for you to be so elegant! But today I have something important to respond to you!"

Master Duan seemed to be frustrated, "Why is it so urgent? You can't even make two games of this game!"

"My lord! I'm still here today because of the incident last time! You said that you want to investigate thoroughly. I wonder if there will be any results?" Old Xuan unconsciously revealed an anxious expression.