On the first morning court session after returning to Nandu, Duan Xu and Fang Xianye met face to face in the waiting courtyard before the session began.
The ministers who were originally chatting and laughing with Duan Xu, when they saw Fang Xianye coming, observed the atmosphere between the two and restrained their smiles.
Both of them were wearing red official uniforms. Fang Xianye's clothes were painted with cloud and wild goose patterns of civil officials, and he had a silver fish bag on his waist, while Duan Xu's clothes were painted with tiger patterns of military officials. They stood out among a group of middle-aged people in red official uniforms.
These are the top two candidates who passed the imperial examination in the same year, the most sought-after young talents in the court. Unfortunately, they belong to different parties and fight to the death. If they can put aside their past grudges, they will be the future twin pillars of Daliang.
Mr. Lu from the Ministry of Justice, who was chatting with Duan Xu just now, sighed secretly, the two parties have been fighting for many years, and it seems that there will be no end to the conflict, and it seems that there will be no day of reconciliation.
Duan Xu bowed politely and said with a smile, "Mr. Fang, it's been a long time since we last met. I heard that you have risen to the rank of fourth-rank assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue. Congratulations."
Fang Xianye humbly returned the greeting and said, "General Duan, you are very polite. You turned the tide in this battle and led the army to cross the pass first. I have also heard about it in Nandu. The emperor has personally selected you to return and report on your work. He must have the intention of rewarding you. Fang would like to congratulate you in advance."
The two of them praised each other in a friendly manner and then sat down, following the six-character mantra of "out of sight, out of mind", one sitting on the far left and the other on the far right. The civil officials sitting on the left were mostly from the Du Xiang faction, with Fang Xianye in between; while the military generals sitting on the right were mostly from the Pei Guogong faction, but Duan Xu was sitting there.
For a moment, the atmosphere in the Dailou Court was very subtle, and the chief clerk of the Honglu Temple who delivered the message was secretly sweating when he saw the situation.
At the morning court session, the emperor really praised the generals who had returned from the north of Guanhe River, rewarded them with countless gold, silver, treasures, silks and satins, and promoted them to higher positions. Qin Huanda was promoted to the Duke of Weiguo, and Duan Xu was promoted to the General of Zhongwu. Then the emperor praised the Ministry of Revenue for its contribution in raising money and grain, and also gave rewards. The emperor handled the matter in a balanced manner. After the morning court session, Prime Minister Du and Duke Pei were both satisfied.
Now that the border is somewhat settled, the emperor has no intention of sending Qin Huanda and Duan Xu to garrison there in the next few years. Duan Xu thought that this was probably the arrangement of Duan Chengzhang and Prime Minister Du, to let him stay in the power center of Nandu. With this experience, he might be able to enter the Privy Council to take charge of military and political affairs in the future.
The smooth road that many people dream of, but Duan Xu only sighed. Having been away from Nandu for half a year, he was unfamiliar with the situation in the court, so Duan Xu went straight to Yumo Tower after the morning court session.
Yuzaolou is the most prosperous and elegant wine shop among the 72 wine shops in Nandu. With fine wine, delicious food and beautiful women as its three specialties, it attracts dignitaries from Nandu to come here for entertainment. Even the emperor has come here to have fun. The nobles of Nandu are all frequent visitors to Yuzaolou, and Duan Xu is no exception before he leaves Nandu.
As soon as he entered Yuzao Tower, he was greeted by a servant. He waved his hand and asked, "Where is Miss Luo Xian?"
Although Miss Luo Xian was not the most beautiful woman in Yuzao Tower, she was a talented woman famous in Nandu. She was as good at poetry and songs as men, and was proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting. She only sold her art but not her body. Before Duan Xu left, he had a close relationship with her and once spent a large sum of money to buy her time for a whole month.
The servant smiled apologetically but hadn't said anything yet when he heard someone say, "Isn't this Mr. Duan San? It's been a long time since we last met. You've been away for so long, and the beauty has already been snatched away by that number one scholar!"
Duan Xu looked over and saw that it was the fourth son of the Minister of Revenue, Mr. Wang, who happened to be drinking in Yuzao Tower. He was handsome, but unfortunately, he was a famous dandy in Nandu. Duan Xu had some superficial friendship with these dandies in the past, so he smiled and said, "Mr. Wang, are you talking about Fang Xianye?"
Prince Wang was uneducated and unskilled, so he was very sarcastic towards those scholars who passed the imperial examinations. Every time he called Fang Xianye, he would call him "number one scholar" in a sour tone. After Duan Xu passed the imperial examination and became "number two", he began to dislike Duan Xu, as if wondering why Duan Xu didn't fall behind in his studies when they used to eat and drink together.
But Duan Xu was also born into an aristocratic family like him, unlike Fang Xianye, who came from a poor family. Prince Wang snorted with contempt, "The champion is really a man who has never seen the world. He finally got some status and money, but when he saw Miss Luo Xian, his eyes were straight, and he kept pestering her. But it's a pity that no matter how much money he spends, he can't wash away his poor air. I think Miss Luo Xian is speechless, so I'm waiting for you to come back! I just saw the champion come in, I'm afraid he went to look for Luo Xian again!"
Duan Xu heard this and said angrily: "You usually oppose me in the court? That's fine, but you also want to snatch Miss Luo Xian from me. This is really intolerable!"
He waved his sleeves, called Luo Xian's name and went upstairs. Prince Wang had an expression of watching a good show, and the servant was so anxious that he couldn't stop him.
Duan Xu walked upstairs and pushed open Luo Xian's door. He saw Fang Xianye sitting in the room between the gauze curtains and beaded curtains. The two looked at this abrupt uninvited guest in surprise. The servant smiled and said, "Master Duan! You see, it was Mr. Fang who came first this time... We have our own rules in Yuzaolou..."
Duan Xu threw a gold ingot to him and said, "The rule of Yuzao Tower is money. I have to meet Miss Luo Xian right here today. Do you mind, Mr. Fang?"
The surprised look on Fang Xianye's face faded away, and he smiled mysteriously: "General Duan has just been promoted, and he is so arrogant?"
"If it weren't for Mr. Fang, I'm afraid I wouldn't have such courage."
As the two of them were confronting each other, Luo Xian spoke from behind the pearl curtain. She was a gentle and beautiful woman, and she advised softly, "Why should the two gentlemen be angry? It is also a pleasure to enjoy elegant music together. Luo Xian is willing to play music and sing lyrics for the two gentlemen."
Neither of them was willing to give in, so they just sat down and listened to the music. The servant was holding the gold, feeling happy but also worried, afraid that the two would quarrel, so he gave Luo Xian some instructions, and Luo Xian smiled and responded, closing the door.
She stood at the door for a moment, making sure the servant had gone far away, then she looked at her nose with her eyes and her heart with her nose, and quietly returned behind the pearl curtain, picked up the pipa and began to play a torrential song.
The music was loud and rapid, covering up most of the noise. Fang Da, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue, stood as straight as a pine tree. He held the teacup and tapped the lid a few times before turning to look at Duan Xu and saying, "Duan Shunxi."
"Mr. Fang."
The two looked at each other for a moment, the sound of the pipa sounded like pearls falling on a jade plate. Fang Xianye frowned and said, "You are so willful and reckless, yet you can still come back alive. It's really a miracle."
There was a lot of dissatisfaction in his words, but Duan Xu smiled brightly and said, "Not really. My destiny is to turn misfortune into fortune. How can I turn misfortune into fortune if it doesn't happen?"
"You will die in there sooner or later. If you want to die, there is no need to bother me to take you there."
Everyone knows that the third son of the Duan family is unlucky. He was working as a Censor-in-Chief, but ended up being transferred to a military post. Before he could even get comfortable in his new position, he was reported to the border camp. After leading the Tabai Army, he was thrown to the north bank of the Guan River as bait. His journey was extremely bumpy.
But only Duan Xu and his opposite number Fang Xianye knew that, apart from the Danzhi raid, all the other difficulties were arranged by him.
He was transferred to a military post because of the discussion on military strategy at the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet. In order to protect Xia Qingsheng's sister, he fought with the son of the Minister of War in the street and was impeached by Fang Xianye and sent to the border camp.
But it was a well-rehearsed play from beginning to end.
When Duan Xu was stationed in Liangzhou, he wrote a secret letter to Fang Xianye, asking him to find a way to send him to attack the north bank and attach a battle plan, Fang Xianye replied with only three words - you are crazy. Not long after, Duan Xu received a military order from General Qin asking him to attack Danzhi's territory and cut off the route of reinforcement on the north bank.
Although Fang Xianye cursed him, he rarely refused his requests, no matter how outrageous they were.
Later, he successfully rescued the situation. Fang Xianye used other people in Nandu to expose Ma Zheng's corruption case. He chose the right time and submitted a memorial. This cooperation made the emperor change his mind and attack the two states of Yunluo.
"Qin Huanda told the Duke that you had intended to conceal your edge before, but this time you acted cunningly in the army, were brave, and were good at winning people's hearts. In the future, whether in the army or in the court, you will become a big threat." Fang Xianye said.
"I've never received a single word of praise from Qin Shuai, but it turns out that he was praising me like this behind my back. You should praise someone in front of them, but how can I know if he's praising me behind their back?"
Fang Xianye still couldn't get used to Duan Xu's playful speaking style, so he said coldly: "Be serious."
Duan Xu restrained his joking expression and said, "The tax account that the Minister of Revenue recently gave you has a trap. There are several places that don't match. If you don't see it, he will catch you for your dereliction of duty. If you investigate further, it will involve the matter of Pei Guogong's son's family embezzling land. You should be more careful."
"I discovered a number of large deficits some time ago and used them to threaten him. Naturally, he holds a grudge against me."
"You still threaten him?"
Fang Xianye raised his eyes and glanced at Duan Xu, seemingly speechless. He pointed in the direction of the military camp and said, "Do you know how much money and grain this war has consumed? The Ministry of Revenue is in the hands of Prime Minister Du, and he has long been shouting that the treasury is empty and there is no money or grain. If I hadn't caught the handle of the Minister of Revenue and forced the wealthy merchants in Jiangnan who he protected to donate rice and grain, you would have been starving in the north."
Fang Xianye, who was always aloof and gentle, and could say bad things as if they were compliments, seemed to be a different person every time he saw Duan Xu, always speaking coldly. Duan Xu often wondered whether Fang Xianye's brilliant remarks against him in the court were acting or from the heart.
Duan Xu clinked his teacup with him and said, "You have a hard time in the Ministry of Revenue. Thank you for your hard work."
"If you write me fewer letters, maybe I can work less hard." Fang Xianye didn't buy it.
Everything Duan Xu was going to do was very radical, and if he was not careful, he would be doomed to death. Even if he was pretending to be tit-for-tat, he didn't need to do it so realistically. Fang Xianye was almost sure that Duan Xu just liked the feeling of licking blood on the edge of a knife.
Duan Xu really laughed. He said, "This is how I fight. It's okay as long as I can win. Once you get used to it, it'll be fine."
His expression of having no intention of changing for the better left Fang Xianye speechless.
The two exchanged many discussions about the military and court situations. After a while, Duan Xu somehow thought of He Simu. He suddenly felt dazed for a moment, as if he had stepped out of the situation and was looking at them from an outsider's perspective.
From the perspective of gods and ghosts like He Simu who have a lifespan of thousands of years, the mortals who only have a lifespan of a few decades might seem ridiculous, just like them watching the crickets jumping around in a jar.
He didn't think there was anything wrong with his life plan, but he couldn't stop He Simu from feeling that his life was meaningless.
Duan Xu's absent-mindedness was immediately caught by Fang Xianye, who knocked on the table and asked, "Are you daydreaming?"
"I was wondering... a few days ago? Did you meet Jingyuan?"
"Well, we met by chance when we were hiding from the rain at Jin'an Temple."
"do you like her?"
Fang Xianye choked on the hot tea and started coughing uncontrollably.