Reincarnation of the powerful minister

There is a poem in Taibai that says: "The ground embraces the power of Jinling, and the city flows back to the river. At that time, there were millions of households, and Zhulou was built between the roads." This refers to Nanjing, the ancient capital of the Six Dynasties.

In the Ming Dynasty, the "two capital system" was implemented like Tang Dynasty.In order to guard the gate of the country, the emperor moved the capital to Shuntianfu, which is adjacent to Beimo, and renamed it "Beijing", while Yingtianfu, where Nanjing is located, was used as the accompanying capital, retaining the original set of imperial city, palaces, lanes and six simplified personnel. yamen.

It is said that Nanjing is more suitable to be the capital of a country in terms of geographical location and water, soil and customs.

Its solid walls, large scale, and extensive territory are second to none among the capital cities in history.

There are four layers of city walls in the whole of Nanjing. From the inside to the outside, they are the palace city, the imperial city, the capital city and the outer city. It is built on the terrain of mountains and rivers.

Zhongshan dragon coils in the east, Shicheng tiger sits in the west, there is the misty Xuanwu Lake in the north, and the Qinhuai River with winding water in the south. The geomantic treasure land of the emperor's Dingding.

Su Yan's boat was driving in the Yangtze River, and he could see the Yuejiang Tower on the Lion Mountain from a distance.After turning into the Qinhuai River, he changed to a small boat with a black awning, passed the water gate amidst the sound of oars, checked his identity and went directly to the inner city, and disembarked near the Tongji Bridge.

Go through the Tongji Gate in front, and you will see the Imperial City of Nanjing.

The south main gate of the imperial city is Hongwu Gate.On the left outside the door is the Governor's Mansion of the Five Armies in Nanjing, referred to as "Five Mansions", and on the right is the official office of the Sixth Ministry.

This is my future office location.When Su Yan passed by, he deliberately went around and looked carefully, and found that there were only five departments, and the punishment department was missing. I don't know where the office of the punishment department went.

Going further inward from Hongwu Gate, after crossing the Outer Five Dragon Bridge, there are Chengtian Gate, Duan Gate, and Meridian Gate just like the capital, and then there is the inner palace.

If there were no accidents, the crown prince's king should be stationed in the palace, but Su Yan could not go further in without an order, so he asked the guards at the gate to report to the prince, and he went to the Ministry of Rites to hand over the seal first.

After more than half an hour, Zhu Helin came out of the palace in a hurry, without even a ceremonial guard, riding a fast horse alone, followed by the exhausted guards as usual, and went straight to the yamen of the Ministry of Rites.

After handing in the appointment documents, Su Yan had just received the seal, and was tidying up his future office, when he suddenly heard a series of footsteps in the courtyard, accompanied by the clear shout of the young man: "Qinghe! Qinghe——"

Zhu Helin stopped the guards outside the gate of the courtyard, and rushed into the hall with a ray of cold wind and snow. He hugged Su Yan face to face, and said excitedly: "Qinghe! I miss you so much!"

Su Yan was strangled between two strong arms and chest, a little breathless.He patted Zhu Helin on the back and said, "Let go first... Take a few steps back and let me see."

Zhu Helin stepped back a few steps as he said, and opened his arms for him to see, with a smile on his brows and eyes.

"Master has grown two inches taller, let's compare?"

Su Yan looked up and down, and found that Zhu Helin had indeed grown a lot taller, about the same height as he is now.But because the opponent's skeleton is bigger than him and the muscles are fuller, in terms of body shape, he looks like the one with young teeth.

...lost!You can't call him a kid now.Su Yan was a little regretful, and muttered, "I'm only nineteen in Chinese New Year, and I'll continue to grow, just watch..."

Zhu Helin smiled and said: "You grow up, so does my young master, and my young master always grows faster than you. See, when my young master turns sixteen after the new year, he will surpass you."

Su Yan was speechless, suspecting that this kid would surpass his father in the end.In comparison, my own development speed is really not enough, I don't know where I eat so much food for three meals a day.

In the past half a year when I was far away from the capital and hadn't been able to meet each other, the prince not only grew taller, but also developed his facial features further. He has a very clear and heroic appearance with sword eyebrows and star eyes, and he did not inherit the handsome looks of the emperor and King Yu. Slanted eyebrows and deep narrow eyes.

And lips.The emperor's lips were thin and restrained, King Yu's lips were thin and affectionate, but the crown prince's lips were thick and plump, and when the corners of the lips were slightly raised, they looked particularly sunny.

But when he wrinkled his brows and glared, and the corners of his mouth were tightened and pressed down, a domineering and aggressive air appeared on his face, showing a bad temper and not easy to get along with.

In the past, because the prince was still young, even when he was angry, he scratched the bark like a tiger cub with his small teeth and claws. Now he has been in a trance for more than half a year, and he ran all the way towards the feeling of youth without looking back.There was an indescribable feeling in Su Yan's heart. He was pleased with Zhu Helin's gradual maturity, and felt that the young man on the street who was full of childishness and curiosity, who couldn't help looking around even after hugging him, was really gone forever. reverted.

"Why are you in a daze?" Zhu Helin put his arms around Su Yan's shoulders, "You are exhausted from the long journey, and your face looks smaller... Let's go, I will take you to Shangyuanlou to eat the best food in Nanjing Duck."

It was only then that Su Yan noticed that he was wearing casual clothes, and said with a smile: "Now the sky is high and the emperor is far away, no one cares, does the young master feel that he can have as much fun as he wants?"

Zhu Helin walked out with his arms around him, smiling: "The youngest in Nanjing is the biggest now, who dares to control me? Besides, it's just a private visit in Weifu, and it's just to understand the people's sentiments."

Su Yan shook his head: "Master, did you forget the new official position of the minister? The left servant of the Ministry of Rites. Where the prince and the clan do not abide by the rules and do not conform to the etiquette, the minister has the duty and power to advise. If you do not listen to the advice, the minister can Kneel down to Fengtianmen in an open and honest manner, and give yourself a reputation again."

Zhu Helin didn't pay attention to the threat of "kneeling at the door and admonishing him" at all, and laughed and said: "What are you talking about! At that time, you will learn from those stubborn admonishers and kneel to death, and I will become a subordinate!" Why bother to be criticized by those who can’t stand? It’s like eating salted duck.”

When going out, he changed his shoulder hug to hand in hand, interlocking his fingers very intimately, and pulled Su Yan to the most bustling market in the city.

Su Yan's itinerary this time was ample, even if he took a detour due to the silting of the Cao River in the middle, when he arrived in Nanjing, there were still six or seven days before the winter solstice, so he had enough time to prepare for the mausoleum sacrifice.

Since the ceremony was presided over by the Nanjing Ministry of Rites and the prince was the chief priest, he, the second-in-command of the Ministry of Rites, must appear on the stage.

The Minister of Rites of Nanjing is a short old man who pays attention to red tape. He is from Luhua. As his name suggests, he loves to educate the world.When he took office to listen to Shangguan's instructions, Su Yan was already too verbose by him.

In fact, there is no need for Mr. Lu to insist, he himself is a person who likes to do his homework beforehand. He took a lot of books recording rituals from the library of the Ministry of Rites, and wrote them down while reading.

Lu Shangshu was originally worried that the new servant was too young, and he was afraid that he would not be able to do things well, but after seeing Su Yan's words and deeds were sophisticated and diligent, he stroked his gray and white goatee and nodded secretly, so he transferred all the rest of his worries to the prince. up.

In the view of this old minister of the Ministry of Rites in Nanjing, even if the prince is ten or twenty years older, he will still be far less stable than the Holy Majesty.The prince's temperament of free nature and free thinking is precisely what he dislikes the most.

Therefore, he wrote down all the procedures of the grand ceremony on paper several days in advance, and handed it over to the prince to memorize.

When the prince saw the dense and long-winded speeches, his eyes were going to be blind. He read it several times, and replied, "I remember it."

Lu Shangshu has lived in Nanjing for a long time, and he is usually free from illness. It is rare to have such a few opportunities to shine in a year, so he regards the perfect pawn as the greatest pride in his life.

With such a mentality, it is natural not to see the prince being perfunctory. He tried to persuade the prince a few times, but the prince ignored it, or he replied: "It is fine if there is no problem in the process. Other details, such as the tone of reciting Zhu Wen Is it high or low, which finger must be placed on which finger when saluting... What's the point of picking these?"

Lu Shangshu was very angry when he heard this, but he didn't want to insist, so he brought a bunch of praise officials and deacons to accompany the prince in the rehearsal.

The prince quit, and they stood in the square against the wind and snow for a long time.

Finally, Lu Shangshu brought the newly appointed Su Shilang to stand in the square.The prince had no choice but to put on a heavy gown and dance with them for three days. He was so top-heavy that he wanted to jump into a rage at any time.

Taking advantage of people's unpreparedness, Su Yan tugged at the big sleeve of the crown prince's gown, and said in a low voice, "Be patient, when the mausoleum ceremony is over, let's go to Tangshan to soak in hot springs to relieve fatigue. By the way, I haven't visited Nanjing city yet." , let's go for a walk together after we're done?"

When the prince heard this, his complexion immediately became better. He could recite the wish text as he wanted, and he could pinch his fingers as he wanted when offering incense, and he cooperated very well.

Seeing this, Lu Shangshu breathed a sigh of relief.

Finally, on the eve of the mausoleum sacrifice ceremony, the crown prince wanted to stay with Su Yan but failed, so he sneaked out of the Nanjing Palace again and sneaked into Su Yan's rented courtyard.

Su Yan was taking a bath in the room.

The prince bypassed Xiao Bei who was dozing off while waiting to clean up the tub under the porch, sneaked into the inner room of the main house, covered Su Yan's eyes suddenly from behind, and said in a low voice, "Robbery!"

Su Yan was startled, and subconsciously pushed the towel, soap, etc. back onto the opponent's head.

Fortunately, the prince was agile, he pressed his hand on the tub and dodged sideways, dodging the "hidden weapon" attack that covered his head and face, but his entire sleeve was wet.

Su Yan found out that Zhu Helin was playing a prank, annoyed and helpless: "Young master is not in the palace to take a good bath and fast, what are you doing here?"

Zhu Helin looked around, moved a round stool to sit by his bathtub, and said aggrievedly: "I'm hungry. I fasted for three days, and I was only allowed to eat two meals a day, and I couldn't eat meat. The young master is about to become a monk. "

Su Yan covered the key parts of the water with a towel, and said, "It's alright, I'm going to fast for three days too. I'm very happy to eat boiled tofu balls with green vegetables, fried winter bamboo shoots and mushrooms with rice. I only eat two meals It’s a little uncomfortable, so I eat [-]% full every meal, and then try to exercise as little as possible.”

It was not the first time that he faced Zhu Helin naked, he was still a little embarrassed in his heart, but his face was calm, and there was a sense of flattery in his demeanor.

However, Zhu Helin looked a little more cramped than when the four of them took a bath together in the bathroom yard of the Yishan Bureau last time.Although he was sitting carelessly by the bathtub, pretending that he had no interest in the half-naked Su Shilang, he couldn't help glancing at his chest, waist, and the place where the big cotton towel was wrapped around his waist from the corner of his eyes.

He gazed intently in his eyes, described it with gusto in his heart, and spoke in a serious manner. He was really a master of three things in one mind.

"I'm too hungry to sleep. I'll ask your boy to cook two bowls of noodles, eggs and shredded pork—no, sliced ​​meat."

Su Yan smiled helplessly: "If my young master is really hungry, let's eat vegetarian noodles."

Zhu Helin raised his eyebrows in displeasure—this expression was somewhat true to King Yu.Then I heard Su Yan say: "Shall I cook for you?"

His eyes lit up, and he pushed forward and said: "Cook one more, my young master will bring it back to the palace, and have it for breakfast tomorrow morning?"

"Should I say it's so pitiful, but you are the crown prince, and you look like a yellow cabbage field..." Su Yan complained, and got up to cook noodles.

As soon as he moved, Zhu Helin stretched his neck and aimed into the water.Su Yan's face sank: "Don't look at evil, please turn around and go out, Your Highness."

Zhu Helin moved the brazier to the bathtub, turned around and left, and sat on the chair outside without going out, muttering through the curtain: "You dress yourself, I don't peek... It’s very pretty, you have all the younger masters, and they’re even older than you.”

Su Yan looked down at his arms and legs, which could not be called thick, as well as his gentle and thrifty chest muscles, and his undecided abdominal muscles, and sighed silently.

He quickly dried his body and dressed in three layers in the lingering chill that filled the room, only then did he feel more comfortable.

When he came out and saw Zhu Helin taking off his cloak, he couldn't help but ask, "Aren't you cold?"

Zhu Helin: "My young master is young and strong, full of blood, not cold."

Su Yan: "..."

Zhu Helin: "Young master doesn't need to sleep on a heated kang at night, and I don't like to use Mrs. Tang, because my feet are too hot."

Su Yan: "..."

Zhu Helin: "What's your expression? You regret it and don't want to cook noodles for me? Forget it, I cook it myself."

Su Yan: "Don't—let me do it!" With your cooking skills, a bowl of half-baked garlic mashed over water can make me vomit twice in a row.

When they were going out, Su Xiaobei woke up with a start. Seeing the prince who was privately visiting late at night, she didn't show any surprise, and went into the house to clean up the bathtub after a salute.

Zhu Helin praised the young servant of the Su family: "There is such a calm demeanor of his master."

Su Yan suspected that the prince was mocking him for his thick skin, but there was no evidence.

There were a lot of ingredients and noodles reconciled during the day in the kitchen cupboard. Su Yan pulled some long noodles, picked some noodles, and cooked a big pot with vegetables.

Use sun-dried mushrooms and bamboo shoots as toppings to enhance the umami taste, add black fungus, carrots, and frozen tofu to enrich the taste, and minced shallots stimulate the fragrance of vegetable oil and sesame oil in the noodle soup and the slightly spicy aroma of white pepper powder. A bowl The plain noodles are actually better than the egg noodles.

Zhu Helin's chest was really pressed against his back, and he burped after eating two large bowls.

Su Yan was also hungry, but he was afraid that his stomach would swell if he ate too much before going to bed, so he ate only one bowl slowly.

After eating, Su Yan thought it was greasy and didn't want to wash the dishes, but Zhu Helin didn't have the concept of washing dishes at all, so he threw all the dishes and chopsticks into the iron pot and soaked them in clear water—as for whether the iron pot will rust tomorrow, that's up to him. That's what the young servant of the Su family is worried about.

Thinking about food and clothing... No, it's sleepiness. The prince doesn't want to go back to the palace, but wants to rub Su Shilang's bed.

At night, Su Shilang, who was holding two Mrs. Tang, whose feet were still cold, didn't want to sleep with the prince who was full of energy and blood.He still firmly remembers the emperor's warning to the prince in the imperial study before leaving Beijing - "If he can't do it, don't come back in this life".

So he coaxed and persuaded the prince out of the house and sent him back to the palace.

——If Su Yan really had the ability to foretell, just like what he once boasted to Shen Qi, maybe he would leave the prince in his own courtyard tonight, and accompany him to the Imperial Mausoleum and Shrine the next morning.

Unfortunately, he didn't.

He watched the back of Zhu Helin's departure, saw the masculinity in the future from the wide shoulders, narrow waist and long legs. He clicked his tongue a little enviously and proudly, then gathered a thick cloak, turned around and closed the door and went back to the house.