All your life is gentle

The third day of August in the seventh year of Tianyou (the fourth year of Yongqian).

Just after the end of the day, the officials of the secretary's provincial defense department had already started to pack their things and prepare to leave work.The Shouzang Division is a leisurely office, and it is also a secret office, which is responsible for keeping important documents and files of the imperial court.When Tianyou entered Shu in the first year, the officials of the department brought a large number of documents into Xijing with a high sense of responsibility.Thousands of miles of turbulence will inevitably be damaged and lost, and those who survived are also in chaos.So these years, while the staff of the Tibetan Keeping Department are busy sorting out new files, they also find time to sort out the old files brought out from Jiyang.

Although Zizhou is famous and high-ranking, he is still young, so he was assigned here to help with copying and writing.It's just that what is copied is all the secrets of the court, and you can often learn some high-level information and learn a lot of special things.In the past few days, he followed his secretary's servant Cai Jie, the veteran of the Tibet Guard Department, to sort out a batch of documents from more than ten years ago, which involved Fengqi's five-year-old mighty general Xie Sheng's "rebellion" case, so he heard the whole story intermittently.

Cai Jie, who was over sixty years old, was a veteran of the two dynasties and had personally experienced this incident.This afternoon, at the end of the story, Mr. Cai took the left-hand minister Xu Minzhi’s impeachment of Xie Sheng’s rebellion, and took out the imperial decree "Punish the Three Clans, Cut the Judgment" drawn up by the Secretary for the Emperor at that time, and finally handed over the 12-year court of Fengqi to Xie Sheng. The edict of rehabilitating Sheng was in front of him: "Look—" the old man stretched out his head to look around, and sighed in a low voice, "What a shame! When the soldiers of the Western Army came to the door, everyone remembered the benefits of General Xie, and then I understand that he was wronged at the beginning. It took seven or eight years to be rehabilitated, which is considered a great fortune. If I hadn't been rehabilitated, my old man would not dare to tell you, young man..."

He sighed again: "Rehabilitated General Xie, but cost another person's life. You said this..."

"What did Mr. Cai say?"

"Oh, Mr. Zuo Xiang has always been upright, and he felt guilty because of this matter. Although the emperor didn't say anything, but... the edict of rehabilitating was issued, Mr. Xu swallowed the gold and committed suicide when he returned home the next day."

"what!……"

After hearing this story, Zi Zhou felt uncomfortable all afternoon.Before leaving, Cai Jie warned: "Even though the ban on this case has been lifted, don't tell anyone casually. I think you are very stable, so you must understand."

"Thank you Mr. Cai." Zizhou nodded. ——It was decided to conspire against the three clans, and within a few years, he was rehabilitated, and it was still in the hands of the same emperor.Although it was the fault of the subordinates, it would be shameless to call Shengming Long live, so he didn't mention it much.

Walking out of the gate, I saw the people from the Cefu Division opposite, coming in and out, a busy scene.

The Department of Shouzang and the Department of Policy and Government Affairs are two subordinate departments of the Secretary Province.Secretary Shengcheng was formerly held by Zhendinghou.In May of this year, Shubei reported that Xirong wanted to open up the official road to Yongshu, and was organizing a large number of soldiers to carry and excavate outside Xianlang Pass; in July, Hou Jingrui reported that Xirong was coming to Fenglan Pass again, and the situation suddenly became tense.Several military generals and some ministers of the DPRK and China proposed to set up the post of "Grand Master" to deal with the current special situation on the grounds that "the state is in an emergency and a wise man must be in the middle to make overall arrangements."

Just a few days ago, on the last day of the court meeting in July, the emperor had a rare and diligent meeting. He received all the officials and announced that his uncle Zhending Hou Ning Shuyuan was the "grand teacher", and he was also the secretary and provincial prime minister. Lead the government.

Therefore, the Department of Policy and Government, which is in charge of participating in and deliberating state affairs and drafting decrees, is the real key department of the Secretary's Ministry.After these years of accumulation, it has finally become the highest administrative organ that completely replaces the emperor's decision-making, and other provinces and ministries can only follow the implementation.Right now, the soldiers of the Western Army are divided into two groups, and the pressure is so tight that the people of the Cefu Division are on duty at night in shifts, and they often work all night.

Glancing into the gate, Zi Zhou felt complicated.Guojiu was promoted to grand master, and it was justifiable that one person was below ten thousand, and no one could check and balance him anymore.The only person who can check and balance chooses to strike completely.

With a wry smile in his heart, he had to be humble and polite on his face, greeting colleagues who came in and out of the yard.

After leaving the yamen, two attendants, Yin Ping and Yin An, were waiting outside.

"Should the young master go home directly, or go shopping somewhere?" Yin Ping asked.

At the beginning, Zizhou would walk around every day when he left the government office.He was already very famous, he was praised by the uncle of the country, and he was summoned by the emperor twice, and his reputation grew.He is also young and handsome, most of the people in Xijing recognize him.Especially in the same year when a group of them stayed in Beijing, they wanted to make money, and they caught him from time to time to play with him.Zi Zhou has a straightforward personality but a kind heart. In addition, he has been trained by Zi Shi to be more easy-going in the past few years, and he has gradually learned some skills to be in harmony with others.

Naturally, there are also those who want to find a son-in-law in the court, who want to be the champion of the new subject, and make inquiries openly and secretly.Zi Zhou always shirks on the grounds that he has an elder brother who has never married.Another one who did not give up chased after him: "Si Wenlang is such a talent, my brother must be not bad..."

Zizhou hurriedly said: "My brother has a marriage contract, but he has never entered the house." The other party retreated, but he was stunned: How could he subconsciously say this?I should try my best to find a pleasing person for my eldest brother, and find a sister-in-law for Zigui and myself...

When I mentioned it at home, Zi Shi said: "You declined very well, so let's say it like this in the future. I like quietness, and I am impatient with women." Smiling, he added, "We have always been informal about those customs. If you like me If you marry a girl, the eldest brother will make the decision for you." This made Zi Zhou blush.

He ran to discuss with Zi Gui again.The younger sister only asked: "What kind of woman do you think is worthy of a big brother?" Zizhou scratched his head and thought about it, and sighed rarely.

More entertainment and more trouble.What's more, good and bad group activities vary, and it is inevitable to meet people who are not pleasing to the eye but cannot be offended.So Zizhou recently began to avoid those same years, leaving every day when the time came.But today I was greedy to listen to the story, so I stayed for half an hour longer.When I walked to the alley, I ran into several fellow Jinshi who had taken office in the Imperial Academy coming out.Seeing him, Yuan Jilin greeted him with a smile.This person had a strange name but a very cheerful personality. He pulled him and said, "Zi Zhou, is it convenient for me to invite us to your house for dinner? I don't want to eat yours for free. You can choose Lantaisi's books..."

Wang Zonghan scolded with a smile: "I have only been an official for a few days, and I have learned the tricks of phony public service! Besides, the books in the family's mansion may not be much worse than those of Lan Taisi, right?"

Tanhua Lang Mi Shaocheng joked: "Brother Yuan is going to eat, or that... Heh, the beauty is delicious..."

Yuan Jilin sneered back: "Brother Mi, laughing at fifty steps and laughing at a hundred steps, you want to cover up..."

These few were all from prison students, and their families had backgrounds and connections, so they were able to stay in Xijing and enter the Imperial Academy to do five-rank editing.Ordinary Xinke Jinshi Juren, who is as lucky as the number one scholar?Except for some of them who went to Jingzhao Yamen as trainees, the rest can all be sent to various places in Shuzhou.In addition, the three speakers have one thing in common: like Zizhou, they all belong to residence.The family members are all local high-ranking officials or wealthy family members who have fled, and they are trying to open up their own territory in the brand new battlefield of Xijing, so the relationship is naturally very close.

Roughly speaking, there are mainly two groups of relatives and courtiers in the middle and high levels of the DPRK.However, the young people in the upper class of Xijing are basically divided into three factions: the "Jing School" who immigrated from Jiyang, the native "Shu School", and the foreign "Yu School".The three groups of people are not convinced with each other, they compete and compete, and they never get tired of it.In comparison, Yupai is slightly weaker.The Jin Xia Dynasty valued literature over martial arts, and most of these people were descendants of aristocratic families, so there was always a contest of pen and ink every now and then.Invisibly, Li Zizhou, the new top scholar from Tongcheng, Yuezhou, the hometown of splendid articles, is becoming a rising star, a new generation leader of the "Yupai".

They are all young people, familiar and informal.The reason why these three people made this joke with Zi Zhou was because they went to Li's residence for a meal and met Zi Shi and Zi Gui.Not only that, among them, Wang Zonghan was an enthusiastic person who met Zi Shi outside the gate of the Ministry of Rites three years ago.It turned out that the imperial court took care of scholars from Shu in the scientific examination, and there were too few places to live in. In addition, the Wang family's foothold was not stable.

On the sixth day of June, the government office was on holiday.The good-for-nothing man invited the main members of the three factions to gather in the largest restaurant "Yuhutian" on Zhulan Street.Although Zizhou tried his best to keep a low profile, he knew more than others because of old news and allusions, so he didn't stand out when he played riddles.In the afternoon, a group of sons and sisters yelled to go to "Liufangxuan" to drink flowers and wine, find fans, and prepare for the second competition.

The rules of the Jinxia Dynasty forbade Su Nvchang, an official, but it was forgotten many years ago.

Zizhou refused to go to "Liufangxuan" together, and was ridiculed by everyone.He remained unmoved, and only said: "Before going out, my elder brother told me to go home in the sunset, so I have to go back."

Everyone knows that his parents are both dead, and there are only siblings in his family. He has always listened to his elder brother the most, so he will inevitably be ridiculed again.Zi Zhou said solemnly: "Elder brother is like a father. I was brought up by elder brother, so of course I listen to elder brother's words."

Wang Zonghan said: "I often hear you say how your elder brother is, and I really want to pay a visit."

Yuan Jilin and Mi Shaocheng are both the backbone of the Yu School, and they wanted to get closer to Zi Zhou, and quickly echoed: "You are so knowledgeable, you were raised by your elder brother, and your elder brother is too powerful. Such a character, at least let us experience it." .”

Zizhou thought for a moment, the house was indeed too deserted, the eldest brother didn't bother to take the initiative to socialize with people at all, it would be good to invite a few of the same year back to have a good time.Taking advantage of the situation, he nodded his head, and sent Yin Ping to go home to report the news.

So, the three of them followed Zizhou to the door as guests, and the others went to "Liufangxuan" in a mighty way.

Zi Shi listened to Yin Ping's message from his younger brother, checked the weather, and asked Zi Gui to add some dishes to the kitchen.He also ordered the servant girl to put out four-color fruit snacks.

I was sorting out a batch of recreational reading materials borrowed from "Fuwen Building" in the study room. The concierge reported that the second young master was home and put down his things to welcome him out.Seeing three noble young men following behind my younger brother, he said with a smile, "The three must be colleagues and friends of my younger brother, please come in quickly."

As soon as he stepped out of the door, the three guests were already startled.It is clear that there is no wind on a quiet day, but I feel the posture of the cloud and water coming, the clothes are fluttering, and the feet are not dusty.When they raised their eyebrows and opened their mouths, the three of them froze in unison.In an instant, the sunset glow in the western sky also paled and dimmed.

The seasoned Wang Zonghan was the first to come back to his senses, and he pulled the other two back to greet him.After taking another look, he suddenly asked: "Forgive me for being abrupt, Mr. Li is quite kind-hearted, as if I've seen him somewhere..."

Zi Shi smiled: "My brother and I are acquainted for the first time."

Wang Zonghan clapped his hands: "That's right! Last time you called me that too. You forgot, Tianyou had an interview with the Ministry of Rites in August of the fourth year. We met outside the yamen of the Ministry of Rites."

Zi Shi tried to recall: "I heard from Xiongtai, it seems that there is such a thing..."

Yuan Jilin interrupted with a smile: "Isn't that what happened three years ago? Brother Wang actually remembers."

"Young Master Li is so handsome, once you meet him, I'm afraid it won't be easy to forget." It was Mi Shaocheng who answered, and then said, "May I ask, since Brother Li went to the Ministry of Rites for an interview, why—"

"Big brother was ill before the autumn exam, and he has been ill since then, so he didn't take the exam again." It was Zi Zhou who answered for Zi Shi.Zi Shi nodded in unison, and said to himself: This kid, he has been in the officialdom for a few days, so he doesn't need to make a draft when he lies.

Several people entered the hall while talking.The guest and the host sat down and described their age in detail. Zi Shi and Yuan Jilin were the same age, and the other two were older than him.After a few gossips, the maid brought tea in, and Zi Shi said, "Xiao Qu, ask Miss if she would like to meet some guests." He thought: Zi Gui has reached the age, so she has to create opportunities for her to have more contact with young people of the opposite sex .If they also have sisters in their family, it would be even better if they can make more friends.He specially explained to the three of them, "Brother Wang, Brother Mi, and Brother Yuan, girls in our family are brought up like boys, and we don't shy away from meeting strangers. Please don't feel abrupt."

The three of them were still dizzy, and nodded repeatedly: "Not abrupt, not abrupt."

When Zigui came in, he called "Big Brother" first, and looked at the three guests in a blink of an eye.

There was a sweet voice in the ear, and the three of them were even more dizzy when they were caught by a pair of black eyes.After listening to Zizhou's introduction, Zigui stepped forward to salute.She is dressed in a green dress, without makeup, and only has two silver hairpins pinned to her head, her posture is generous and natural.The three of them hurriedly returned the salute, they didn't dare to look directly, they lowered their heads to peek at the bright smile from the corner of their eyes, and they all remembered the lotus that they had just seen at the "Biluo Lake" in Furongzhong.

When the topic was discussed, the three brothers and sisters chatted and laughed with the guests, talking and talking, witty and elegant.After eating, they sat for more than an hour, and Wang, Mi, and Yuan realized that it was getting late, so they left and went home.

According to Yuan Jilin's later description to his colleagues and friends, this trip to the Li Mansion can only be described as "two surprises and three praises".Of course the ones who were amazed were Zhuangyuanlang, his brother and his sister, but what they admired were the books in Zhuangyuanlang's mansion (they didn't know that most of them were borrowed, and the owner never explained), the tea they drank, and the food they ate. .The three of them are all from everyone's background and have extraordinary knowledge. Although the objects of admiration are rare, they are not considered masterpieces.

Zi Zhou was also there at the time, and Yuan Jilin patted him on the shoulder and sighed: "Zi Zhou, I thought you were born upright enough, compared with your elder brother and younger sister... tsk tsk... With all due respect, shouldn't you will be……"

Zizhou knew that he was joking, but he was very allergic to the word "adoption" pressed underneath.He forced a smile and said: "The elder brother is born of the aunt, and the younger sister is twins, so we are truly a family."

Wang Zonghan said: "So that's the case. Then your eldest brother is really amazing. He raised a pair of younger siblings so well..." His face was full of admiration. ..."

Mi Shaocheng smiled and said, "No wonder Zizhou listens to elder brother like that. If I want such a brother, I will be obedient." The topic changed, "However, I don't want to have such a beautiful and intelligent younger sister, who will become someone else's family sooner or later. of……"

Everyone laughed and stomped their feet to regret that they didn't go to visit Li's residence together.

The atmosphere in central Shu was originally open, and many people who lived in exile came here in exile, and many old rules were ignored, and the restrictions on women were much looser.Everyone made jokes about the younger sister, and Zi Zhou was not upset, he had a good time: "My younger sister is in her boudoir. My elder brother said that the important things in my life are up to my younger sister. If you have a heart, you might as well try throwing a peach or a plum."

All in all, from then on, this group of people knew that Si Wenlang and Li Zizhou's family had a brother who looked like a fairy, and a sister who looked like a fairy.There are no elders in Li's house, young people speak freely, Wang, Mi, and Yuan have been thinking about going again, and others are also tempted to come, so they got together twice in June.Later, because of the sweltering weather, Zi Shi was a little too lazy to move, and this gang of eaters and drinkers still wanted to come to the house, but Zi Zhou refused them all on the grounds that "my brother is not in good health".

At this moment, I bumped into several people head-on. As I joked, Wang Zonghan asked, "Is Brother Ling feeling better?"

"Brother Lao Wang misses you, it's much better."

"For the Mid-Autumn Festival Lantern Festival, call your elder brother and younger sister and come out for a walk together." Yuan Jilin warmly invited.

"That's it." Mi Shaocheng said, "I heard that starting from Rihua Gate, passing through "Enzefang", "Enrongfang" and ending at "Furongzhong", all the way will be covered with colorful lights. The Holy Majesty plans to visit Zhulan Street in person , Watching the singing and dancing on the terrace of "Biluo Lake", I don't know how grand it will be!"

Zizhou has also heard about the upcoming Mid-Autumn Lantern Festival.Nodding and clapping hands: "Thank you for your kindness. I'll go home and ask my brother."

When they got home, Zigui was preparing meals in the kitchen, while elder brother was watering the flowers in the back garden—no, watching Yin Xiang watering the flowers.

None of the six servants sent by Yin's mansion changed their names.Those who follow Zizhou are "safe", those who answer the door are "wealthy", and those who take care of the garden are "auspicious".The six bought have their household registrations in Li's house, and they are willing to have the same surname as Zhuangyuanlang.The two servant girls call them "songs" and the two young servants call them "articles".The two cooks, Zi Shi wanted to call people "glutton", and were severely reprimanded by his younger siblings.Zizhou criticized the content, while Zigui focused on the form. One is called "Wei Niang" and the other is "Dao Niang".

Standing with his eldest brother, Zizhou talked about watching the Lantern Festival on August [-]th.

Zi Shi said: "Okay. If you don't go out for a long time, it's good to go for a walk."

After being silent for a while, Zi Zhou finally couldn't hold it back: "The situation ahead is so tense, the court and the public, and the extravagant trend is getting worse—" Feeling that talking is useless, it will only increase troubles, so he stops talking.

Zi Shi knew that his younger brother was depressed all the time.The three brothers and sisters all understand this, but it is a dead knot that cannot be solved.It is about the pursuit of ideals, and it cannot be justified in a few words.Even if he is himself, he may not be able to act as if nothing had happened, let alone Li Zizhou, a natural disciple of the holy sect, Huaijin holding Yu and his enthusiasm for entering the world?You can only rely on time to grind slowly, use the situation to force you slowly, and there will be a moment when you have to make a choice.Maybe it's a desperate move, maybe it's a big smile and walks away.For so many days, I have been persevering, dripping water and wearing stones, and the effect is always there.However, the final decision is ultimately in the hands of the parties involved.Even my elder brother can't replace...

The two brothers went to the study in the front yard one after the other. The supplementary school project for "Poetry and Lihui Yao" was completed three months ago, and Zi Shi just read a few pages of idle books here to pass the time every day.Xiaoge brought tea in, and Zizhou told her to step back, think about it, and said to the eldest brother: "I recently... and Mr. Cai went through a batch of old drafts and drafts, and heard an old case."

In principle, things that the Treasurer has come into contact with must not be leaked casually, even family members.Zizhou has principles when he is young, not to mention Zishi never asks questions, so this is the first time he has reported the specific content of work to his elder brother.Zi Shi knew in his heart that it must be something that made him feel stuck in his throat, and it was really uncomfortable to hold back.So he put down the teacup and sat upright to listen.

"Five years in Fengqi, the mighty general Xie Sheng's "rebellion" case, have you heard about it?"

Zi Shi's heart was shocked.After calming down in the dark, he took a sip of tea and said, "I have heard a little bit about it. I heard that he started border trade privately, colluded with other races, grabbed huge profits, and was finally designated as "conspiracy" by Yushitai."

"Does the eldest brother know that General Xie has been rehabilitated?"

"What did you say?!" Zi Shi stood up abruptly.The boiling hot tea spilled on his hands without realizing it.

"Brother!" Zi Zhou was surprised.Seeing that the back of Zi Shi's hand was red, he rushed out to get the burn ointment.Fortunately, it was not serious, and it was dealt with quickly, and the two brothers sat down to talk again.

Zizhou looked at his elder brother, waiting for an explanation.

Zi Shi said, "Tell me about the redress first."

"The edict of rehabilitating was issued at the end of Fengqi's 12th year. I heard from Mr. Cai that at that time the soldiers from the West had already entered the pass and were approaching Yanyang. Many people in the court suddenly remembered that General Xie had guarded the Lengyue Pass for 15 years, and there were occasional quarrels." , but was safe and sound. Without the large number of good horse bows and arrows he bought from several other barbarians during his lifetime, the mighty army would be even more powerless to fight back. At this time, a small official in the army presented General Xie who had been hiding for many years The posthumous memorial. The posthumous memorial pains Chen Xirong's wolfish ambitions, frequent changes, and the mighty army is short of food and wages, and it is difficult everywhere... It is said that everyone in the court read the memorial, and all of them shed tears...

"In the end, the emperor's fortune-telling department re-investigated, and the results proved that General Xie was full of loyalty to serve the country, or acted in a hurry to follow the power, and there was no single-minded conspiracy. The imperial court then issued an edict to vindicate General Xie Sheng, and he was just promoted to secretary. The Vice Chancellor’s former minister of the Ministry of War, Mr. Zhu Gaoxuan, and Mr. Fan Mingtang, the former right counselor who has been transferred to Jing Zhaoyin, also deposed several imperial officials who had handled the matter at the beginning, and dozens of other officials were implicated in their dismissal and demotion. people."

As if being oppressed by some kind of force, Zi Zhou took a deep breath, and continued: "Also, Mr. Xu Minzhi, the Prime Minister of the Left, once strongly advocated that General Xie should be strictly investigated and dealt with. Originally, this case was judged as private embezzlement and corruption. In the end, because of the resolute attitude of the left side, he wanted to... eliminate harm for the country, so he decided to "conspire against the country with one heart", punish the three clans, and make a decision. Therefore...Master Xu feels so guilty, and on the day the edict was issued, Just swallowed the gold and killed himself."

After listening to this passage, Zi Shi was speechless for a long time.After being silent for a long while, he finally opened his mouth slowly: "Unexpectedly, this case shocked the government and the public when it happened, and involved a lot of people. When it was rehabilitated, many high officials from the court and the central government were killed... At the end of Fengqi's 12th year, yes, at that time the north had already It was a mess, the imperial court couldn't deliver the report, so that Tongcheng didn't even know about it..."

The elder brother's reaction to this case was so unusual that Zi Zhou stared straight at Zi Shi.

"I don't know...does General Xie have any relatives alive?"

"That day, all the members of the Xie family were not spared. However, the crime was not as good as the mother's wife's family. General Xie's mother died early, and the mother's family declined. Mrs. Xie is the youngest daughter of Qingyuan Marquis Hanxian. Cai Lao Said that after the incident, the Han family forced her to go home, but she insisted on living and dying with her husband, so—" Maybe it was infected by the serious attitude of the elder brother, Zizhou said more and more deeply.Speaking of the tragic part, my heart was torn apart, so that I couldn't continue.

The two brothers faced each other in silence.After a while, Zi Shi asked softly, "Is General Xie Sheng's inscription the word "Qi Ming"?"

"Yes." There is relevant information in the document, and Zizhou has read it.Moreover, "sheng" means the rising sun, which is exactly the meaning of "enlightenment". ——However, how does eldest brother know?

"Zi Zhou." Zi Shi looked at his younger brother almost pitifully, "Some of what I'm going to say is what I've heard in the past, and some I guessed. I didn't dare to say it before, but now I'll tell you everything. Listen carefully first." Come on, don't be sad..."

Having a premonition of what was about to be presented in front of him, Zi Zhou couldn't help gripping his elder brother's arm tightly, trembling slightly.

"You know, Dad was sent to the Northwest and served as the governor of Liangzhou for two years. Although he never said it clearly, the old man and General Xie must be old acquaintances. When the incident of General Xie happened, Dad had been in office for nearly six years. But——you and Zigui came home in March of the fifth year of Fengqi, and the day of General Xie's death was only half a month away..."

He squeezed his younger brother's hand tightly: "Before my father died, he mentioned a name. You probably didn't hear me, but I remember...it was the word "Qi Ming"... Daddy has always believed that the friendship between gentlemen is as light as water. The more Treating each other wholeheartedly, the more ordinary the relationship looks to outsiders—probably because of this, not only did you not get implicated, but it also protected the two of you from escaping..."

Although it was a guess at the beginning, but at this point, both brothers knew that the truth had been revealed.