humble minister

Just when Lian Ying had already prepared a draft in his stomach and was about to answer a series of questions from his sister, the arrival of a person really saved him.

"Huh, so Ah Ying is here with my cousin." Jiang Bailang poked his head at the door of Duanmu Xiwei's boudoir, looking at the two sisters who were about to have a heart-to-heart talk inside.

"Xiao Lang!" Lian Ying was also very happy to see Jiang Bailang at this moment, and hurried forward to welcome him in.

"Hey, I won't go in. After all, this is my cousin's boudoir. But I'm here today to find Ah Ying. Cousin, can I borrow Ah Ying for a while?" Jiang Bailang held Lian Ying's arm , asked Duanmu Xiwei inside.

"Okay, but let Ah Ying come back sooner, he's exhausted these days." Duanmuxi instructed with a slight smile.

"I know." Jiang Bailang replied and then pulled Lian Ying away.

Lian Ying never expected that Jiang Bailang would pull him out of the mansion directly. Fortunately, he had already arranged Guan Xing's residence, otherwise he really didn't know what Guan Xing would do if he was pulled out by Jiang Bailang.

Until being pushed into the carriage by Jiang Bailang, and then seeing Jiang Bailang also sitting in, Lian Ying still hadn't realized what he wanted to do.

"Where are you taking me?" Lian Ying raised the curtain of the carriage, looked at the dim sky outside, knew that the carriage had already moved, and was really curious about where Jiang Bailang was taking him.

"Imperial Palace." Jiang Bailang saw that Lian Ying's expression changed after he said these two words, knowing that he probably guessed something, he stopped hiding it and said, "That's right, it's the emperor's secret decree for you and your teacher Brother Yu is going to the palace, and I have something to ask you."

"Is it about the hunting and assassination before?" Lian Ying frowned, it seemed that the emperor still had doubts.

"Well, but because Shi Xiang and I notified in time, the emperor quickly made arrangements to capture those assassins and those beasts, so only a small number of people in Qiuwulin at that time knew about the assassination. And after all, there is no evidence. Sufficiently, it has not yet been proved that the third and fourth princes did this, so the emperor still has doubts about what Shi Xiang and I said, but I think he believed most of it, and he is just holding back at the moment. Now declare you and Shi Xiang Brother Yu went to ask questions to thoroughly confirm this matter." Jiang Bailang explained, "Because it is a secret decree, so I came to you, and Shi Xiang has already gone to see Brother Shi Yu."

After hearing this, Lian Ying thought to himself, no wonder he didn't hear anything about hunting and assassination on the way here, it turned out that he was suppressed by the emperor.Just according to his guess on the night of the engagement banquet with his sister, the emperor must have deliberately set up a trap, just to trap the third and fourth princes, so that they could kill their relatives righteously.

However, the third and fourth princes were too cautious and failed to let the emperor catch the horse's feet, so the emperor announced that he and Shi Yu entered the palace, probably because he wanted to find some evidence.But if this fails, what will the emperor do?It was hard for him to imagine that a father would do everything possible to deal with his child.

Hey, why should he think so much about the royal family.

"Ah Ying, when the time comes when the emperor asks you, you must think it over before answering." Jiang Bailang thought about it and asked again, and then he seemed relieved to ask something he had been worried about for a long time, "Have you not yet answered?" Tell me what you have experienced in the past few days, are you and Brother Shi Yu okay?"

Lian Ying thought for a while, and briefly talked about his experiences along the way, and of course he accepted Guan Xing as his disciple.But there are also some things that he is not ashamed to say, such as... some interactions between him and Shi Yu.

After finishing speaking, Jiang Bailang looked at him with inexplicable excitement and asked, "Hey, how is the relationship between you and Brother Shi Yu now? After the common troubles, they should be very close, right?"

"You..." Seeing Jiang Bailang's eyes shining brightly, Lian Ying didn't know what to say. When did this Jiang Bailang become so gossiping, so he resolutely expressed that he would not care what Jiang Bailang said. He ignores everything, well, no matter what he says, he ignores everything.

Seeing him like this, Jiang Bailang knew he couldn't ask anything, but he wasn't worried, he curled his lips and said in a low voice, "Hmph, it doesn't matter if you don't tell me, anyway, Ah Xiang is going to ask Shi Yu, I'd better You'll know! Paper can't contain fire!"

Lian Ying really couldn't laugh or cry, he didn't expect Shi Xiang to become as out of tune as Jiang Bailang, and what the two of them said seemed to be true.

When Lian Ying followed Jiang Bailang into the imperial study where the current emperor summoned his courtiers privately, he found that Shi Yu and Shi Xiang were already there, and his originally nervous mood was strangely calmed down at this moment.

"Craftsmen/I pay homage to the emperor." Lian Ying and Jiang Bailang bowed to salute.

"No need, excuse me."

A majestic voice stopped the movement of the two of them, and then they dared to stand up and stand with their hands down.

Lian Ying took a few glances at the current emperor during the time when he got up, and he saw a bright yellow, but what really surprised him was that the emperor might really be terminally ill.Although the emperor's makeup and ceremonial guards are still extremely majestic, and his complexion is fair, but if you look closely, you can still see that the emperor's spirit is already very bad.

At this moment, the emperor on the throne is also carefully looking at the two people in front of him, especially Mr. Tingyun, who is a little weak just by looking at his face, but he is also very scholarly, and he also has an aura that is rare for scholars. No wonder One of the four sons of the Northern Dynasties.As for Jiang Bailang, he has met this kid a few times. Although he is a bit arrogant and stubborn, he has no dandyism. He looks like his father. Now he has also obtained the post of deputy commander of the imperial guards. He must fight in the battlefield several times in the future. , that is even more material to make.

There was a moment of silence, only to hear the emperor ask: "There are many strange things about the hunt. I have heard Xiang'er and Jiang Qing talk about the assassin and your speculations, but the matter is so important that I don't want to make a rash decision, let alone this matter. This matter also involves my other two sons. As for Cai, Yu'er has already told me about your experiences along the way, and luckily you came back safe and sound. However, I still want to hear about the hunting and assassination. Listen to your opinion, Mr. Tingyun."

Lian Ying couldn't help but look at Shi Yu when he heard that Shi Yu had explained the whole journey to the emperor, and found that Shi Yu was also looking at him. Those who chose and had reservations breathed a sigh of relief immediately, and concentrated on thinking about the emperor's question.

On the surface, the emperor respected himself, Mr. Tingyun, and asked his opinion, but how could others meddle in the royal affairs?The emperor's question is just a polite way, it is more likely to be a test for himself, and how he answers is the key. If he really expresses his opinion, I am afraid that it may not be in line with the emperor's wishes, and even offend Longyan ah.

So Lian Ying thought for a while before lowering his head, seemingly respectful and sincere, but the corner of his mouth raised a smile and replied: "Excuse me for being blunt, I really don't dare to have opinions, but Ting Yun knows what His Majesty's opinion is, trust me The emperor must make a decision, why bother to ask me any more?"

As soon as the words were finished, everyone present had different expressions, but Shi Xiang and Jiang Bailang could vaguely show worry on their faces, but Shi Yu had no expression on his face.

The emperor sat on the top, he could see the expressions of everyone present at a glance, listening to Lian Ying's answer, looking at his calm and composed expression, even the emperor himself had to admit that it was no wonder that this young man was hailed as one of the four sons.Such an answer is really hard to find fault with, especially since he always feels that the other party may have seen through his arrangement.

However, Guan Yu'er's expression showed that the relationship between the two is not very good. If he can win Mr. Tingyun to Yang'er's command, it will be a great help.

Thinking about it, the emperor didn't plan to ask any more questions, instead he wanted to chat with Mr. Tingyun alone.

"Forget it, the four of you were called here today just to ask, and now that I have asked, let's step back first."

"Yes, Erchen/Weichen/Caomin retire."

Lian Ying was about to go out with the three of them when the emperor stopped him again.

"Young Master Tingyun, please stop, I still have something to say to you."

Hearing this, the other three couldn't help but show secret and concerned eyes to Lian Ying. Lian Ying smiled and said that there is no need to worry, then turned around and said respectfully: "Even so, Ting Yun would be more respectful than obedient."

Seeing the emperor retreating from the crowd, Lian Ying couldn't help wondering what the emperor was going to say to him, maybe it would be something secret.

Sure enough, the emperor spoke soon, but what he said still surprised Lian Ying.

"I don't know if Mr. Tingyun has an official career in mind?"

Lian Ying's heart skipped a beat when he heard this, could it be that the old emperor wanted to solicit him?But definitely not for himself, presumably for the current crown prince.

It was one thing to think about it, but Lian Ying still pretended not to know, and replied sincerely: "To tell you the truth, Ting Yun has never thought of getting involved in the struggle between the ruling and opposition parties. , how can he have the energy to compete with others? It's because Tingyun doesn't like fighting at all, he is not suitable for the government and the public, but more suitable for the world.

The emperor was not surprised after hearing Lian Ying's words. He also understood the desire of a small number of literati to retreat to the secular world, but he didn't believe that such a young and talented young man in his prime would be a little bit better. They don't want to make a big fight in this ruling and opposition field. After all, young people are always a bit frivolous and ambitious. It's just to see if the chips given are big enough and attractive enough.

"If you are willing to assist the prince, I will make you the prince's tutor?" At this time, the emperor is not ready to beat around the bush, and it is better to say some things early.And he knew that anyone who thought he was talented would want to be the teacher of the royal family's children, let alone the teacher of the current prince. This is both a supreme honor and a supreme recognition.

But it's a pity that Lian Ying is not a self-confident talented person, so he was only shocked at first that the emperor would use such an important position as prince and tutor to seduce him, but he also knew that the emperor might It was because he was determined to subdue himself to the prince's family, and immediately said neither humble nor overbearing: "Forgive Tingyun for not following orders."

Under the increasingly dangerous eyes of the emperor, he responded word by word but firmly said: "Tingyun is younger than the prince, and he dare not say how good his studies are. How can he be the prince and tutor? Please also ask the emperor Don't make things difficult for Stop Cloud."

"Embarrassing?" When the prince snorted coldly, he continued: "No one in the world knows that Mr. Tingyun is unparalleled in talent, even my Xiang'er is inferior. If even Tingyun can't be the prince's teacher, who else is there?" Can it? Is it the number one scholar today? Besides, Han Yu once said, "My teacher is Taoism, and I don't know who was born to me? Therefore, there is no nobility, no cheapness, no long and no little, and the existence of the Tao is the existence of the teacher." , so I don’t think age is a reason why you can’t be the crown prince.”

"Or, in fact, the person you want to be loyal to is someone else?" Speaking of which, the emperor's gaze was already very dangerous.

Lian Ying's heart tightened. I'm afraid the emperor thinks that he and Shi Yu have a very close relationship, which is not good for Shi Yu. It seems that he still wants to dispel the idea of ​​the emperor as soon as possible.

"Your Majesty misunderstood. No matter before becoming famous or after becoming famous, Ting Yun's favorite thing to do is to travel around the mountains and rivers and enjoy the people. He never thought of having anything to do with the wealth of the Tian family. Even if Ting Yun can't work for His Royal Highness, Absolutely never rely on others."

The emperor saw his sincerity. Although he didn't fully believe what he said, he believed it six to seven percent, and knew that he couldn't push him into a hurry, otherwise it would be even more impossible to achieve his goal of sincerity. Asked, but let Lian Ying go back to rest well, of course, the reward will not be less.

After Lian Ying retreated, the usually shrewd and majestic emperor suddenly leaned against the back of the throne, and ordered to an unknown dark corner in the imperial study: "Go, find out the origin of Mr. Tingyun for me. "

"Yes." Respectfully replied in the darkness, and then saw a shadow passing by.

It wasn't until this time that the emperor slumped down on the throne, looked into the distance, and murmured to himself: "Don't worry, Minmin, I will definitely let our son take over the throne with clean hands, and then I will accompany you How are you?"

Silent and silent, only this long night and this infatuated emperor are companions...

The author has something to say:

Cough, don't worry about Han Yu's chaos in the dynasty, just use it if you think it's appropriate, hehe...