When Fang Xianye returned to the room and turned on the light, he raised his eyes and saw a figure in black sitting on a chair in the room looking at him. He paused and moved the light further away to prevent the shadow of the person from falling on the window.
"Why aren't you surprised at all?" Duan Xu, wearing a light nightgown and a dark black headband, asked with his head propped up.
Fang Xianye sat on a chair beside him, picked up the teapot and poured a cup of tea, saying, "Today, the guards said that there seemed to be a thief in the mansion. They searched several times but couldn't find him. So I guessed that it was you."
"Your newly hired guards are quite alert."
"No matter how clever they are, they are no more clever than the assassins from Wensheng Pavilion. It was you who failed."
Duan Xu paused as he stroked the teacup. He chuckled and said, "My reaction has been a little slow these past two days, but I'll be back to normal in a few days. How will Duke Pei arrange things at the Ministry of War?"
"Sun Zi'an was beheaded, Qin Huanda lost his real power, and the Yu Fei witchcraft case seriously damaged their vitality. Prime Minister Du is also keeping a close eye on them. Duke Pei hopes that the post of Minister of War will be temporarily vacant and replaced by the Vice Minister. We will make arrangements after the storm has passed. On Prime Minister Du's side, is it you or Meng Qiaoyan?" Fang Xianye asked.
Meng Qiaoyan is Meng Wan's father. He participated in the suppression of the rebellion in the southwest and made great contributions. He commanded the Southern Capital Imperial Guards. Before Duan Xu took over as the commander, he was Du Xiang's strongest force in the army.
"It should be Meng Qiaoyan. My father wants Prime Minister Du to let me stay in the army to replace Qin Huanda. But if Meng Qiaoyan becomes the Minister of War, Prime Minister Du and Meng Qiaoyan will definitely use me to insert people into the army. At that time, it is not certain whether the army belongs to me or Prime Minister Du."
Fang Xianye nodded and said, "Meng Qiaoyan is a man who is careful with his words and deeds, but his sons are not very promising. They are just sitting in the army doing nothing. His third son is particularly irritable. If his son gets into trouble in the army, Meng Qiaoyan's path to promotion will not be so easy. However, if the position of Minister of War is vacant, Pei Guogong will be able to arrange his own people afterwards, and you will be more constrained in the army."
"For Duke Pei, this position can be won only if it is not someone of Prime Minister Du. In this case, both sides should take a step back and push someone who has no obvious position. I think Cao Ruolin is a good choice. He also participated in the suppression of the rebellion in the southwest and is doing well in the Ministry of Justice. He has no foundation or background, but he is quite capable and has a tough temper. I heard that he admires your poems and articles very much. If someone else wants to recommend him, he may not appreciate it, but if it is you, he will definitely be grateful. He is grateful to you, and you are a retainer of Duke Pei. From Duke Pei's perspective, he is a member of your Pei Party. As long as you pay attention, you can quietly turn him into your own person."
Fang Xianye and Duan Xu looked at each other for a moment and smiled knowingly.
"Recently, the emperor plans to build a horse farm in Yunzhou and appoint border inspectors for Yunzhou and Luozhou to command the military and political affairs of Yunzhou and Luozhou. I would like to take on this mission." Fang Xianye said.
He had been in the Ministry of Revenue for so many days, and he felt that war was a waste of money, not only in terms of food and fodder, but also in terms of weapons and war horses. Yunluo's horse farm and mine were the key sources of materials for the future recovery of lost territory, and he could not rest assured to let others run them.
After all, that was the land that Duan Xu fought for with his life.
What's more, this is an extremely important assignment. If you make achievements and return to the court, you will definitely be promoted.
During the war, the emperor sent Zheng An to the front line. The post of border patrol envoy would most likely fall on Zheng An. Zheng An had a long career and a strong foundation, and he would definitely choose his confidants to go with him, so Fang Xianye would have to be excluded.
Duan Xu thought for a moment, snapped his fingers and said, "In a while, the Heavenly Sacrifice Ceremony will be held. As usual, you need to prepare a poem to be read to the Heaven. The Emperor values poems very much. Prime Minister Du was appreciated by the Emperor because of his ability to write poems. If you can prepare a poem that will impress the Emperor, you should have a good chance of success in your application for appointment."
Qingci is a memorial dedicated to the gods. It is a test of writing skills, and few civil and military officials can write it. Duan Xu approached Fang Xianye and whispered, "In fact, Prime Minister Du can't write Qingci either. My father writes Qingci for him every year."
Fang Xianye raised his eyebrows.
Duan Chengzhang has been unemployed for such a long time due to illness, but he still has a place in the Du Party. Isn't it because of his relationship with Wensheng Pavilion, which allows him to grasp a lot of intelligence in the world, as well as his exquisite writing skills
"I know he has already written it. I'll take a peek some other day and memorize it for you."
"You want me to copy him?"
"Of course not. Why would a talented scholar like Fang Da need to copy him? But you can take a look at how he wrote it first, so you can have a better idea of what he is doing. If you know yourself, you will be invincible in every battle." Duan Xu said with a smile.
Fang Xianye was silent for a while, observing his expression, and said leisurely: "People outside said that the third son of the Duan family had an unexpected wedding accident, and spent a lot of money to find a new bride. He was exhausted both physically and mentally and stayed at home. But the third son of the Duan family seemed very happy."
From the beginning, Duan Xu said everything with a smile. Although he usually loved to laugh, today he laughed especially proudly.
Duan Xu touched the corner of his lips, smiled more brightly, and said, "It's too depressing to pretend to be gloomy outside. Now that I'm in front of you, I don't want to pretend anymore. Speaking of which, I have to leave early. The one in our family was painting in the yard with wet hair after washing it yesterday, and she caught a cold. I have to go back to take care of her."
Fang Xianye was greatly surprised when he heard this. His hand holding the cup of tea froze in mid-air and he said, "You don't mean... that last time..."
"It's her, His Majesty the Ghost King?"
"Can ghosts get sick?"
"She is quite special." Duan Xu stood up, stretched and said, "I have one more wish in my life. After I recover the seventeen states north of Guanhe, I will become the son-in-law of their He family."
Fang Xianye stared at Duan Xu, unable to say a word. Duan Xu patted his shoulder and smiled: "We agreed at the beginning that I will be the general, wielding a sword and riding a horse to conquer the world, and you will be the prime minister, wielding an ivory tablet and ruling the world. I don't mind when the birds are gone and the good bows are hidden. When the time comes, I will retire and you can rule the world well."
After saying that, Duan Xu put on his scarf and jumped out of the window. This time, he was more agile than when he came, and did not alarm the guards in the mansion. After Duan Xu left for a long time, Fang Xianye picked up the teacup and continued to drink the tea, shaking his head and said, "Is this man a lunatic?"
When Duan Xu returned to his Haoyue Residence with the medicine, He Simu was leaning against the bed with her legs hugged, drowsy. Her long hair was scattered on the bed, black and shiny, against her pale face, and the most gorgeous thing on her body was the red dress, just like the painting she painted on him.
Black branches, red plum blossoms and white snow, congratulations to Simu.
Chen Ying lay on the bed and looked at He Simu with a sad face. When she saw Duan Xu coming, she pushed He Simu's shoulder in surprise and said, "Little sister, the medicine is here. Drink it."
Duan Xu sat next to He Simu. She opened her eyes, stretched out her hand sleepily and waved it in the air, then took the medicine bowl and prepared to drink it all. Duan Xu immediately moved the medicine bowl away and said, "No, it's too hot."
He Simu finally sobered up a little. She rubbed her eyes and looked at Duan Xu angrily, saying in a hoarse voice: "Being a human is so troublesome. Even a breeze can make you sick."
Every time she exchanged her five senses with Duan Xu, she would always encounter some bad luck, such as being stabbed to death in prison, being attacked by the master of the Ghost Hall, or catching a cold. She is now dizzy, confused, and breathless. In short, there is only one word - miserable. It was obviously her own fault that she caught a cold, but she blamed this mistake on Duan Xu.
Duan Xu smiled, scooped up a spoonful of medicine, blew on it, and handed it to her: "This is a rare opportunity. Isn't it a perfect experience to experience life and illness?"
He Simu turned his head and sneezed, rubbing his nose and drinking the medicine given by Duan Xu, and said, "It's better to experience less of this kind of thing."
She drank the medicine, and Duan Xu stuffed a candied date into her mouth. He Simu said vaguely, "I can't taste it, and I'm not afraid of bitterness. Why do you give me candied fruit? You can give it to Chen Ying."
Duan Xu also stuffed a candied date into Chen Ying's mouth, leaned over and whispered in He Simu's ear: "But I'm afraid of bitterness."
"so what?"
"I'm going to kiss you in a minute."
"…" He Simu stole a glance at Chen Ying, who was blinking his big eyes, and pushed Duan Xu away, saying, "Be more restrained, do you want to get sick too?"
Although she said so, she still ate the candied dates Duan Xu stuffed into He Simu's mouth. She drank the whole bowl of medicine, one candied date at a time. Considering that this was also the way Duan Xu usually drank medicine, she couldn't imagine how afraid this guy was of bitterness. How could he be so delicate
Chen Ying was not treated unfairly either. He held a candied date in his mouth and raised his hand to touch He Simu's forehead. After feeling it carefully for a while, he reported to Duan Xu: "Little sister's forehead is not hot anymore."
Duan Xu smiled and said, "That's good, her fever has subsided."
Chen Ying's eyes flickered between He Simu and Duan Xu's faces, and he excitedly asked, "Third brother, you and Xiaoxiao sister, are you two... secretly engaged?"
He Simu thought that after not seeing this little guy for a few months, his idioms had improved a lot. Before she could answer, Chen Ying started talking again: "Little sister, Third Brother likes you very much. Do you like Third Brother?"
Chen Ying's big eyes looked at her, Duan Xu's eyes also looked at her. After a moment of silence, He Simu stroked the back of his head affectionately and said, "It's been a long time since we last met. Sister is here to test your homework."
The smile on Shen Ying's face quickly disappeared, revealing a pitiful expression.
He recently went to study martial arts with Duan Yiqi. Duan Yiqi had been learning martial arts for a long time. He was about the same age as him, but he was better than him in every aspect. He was still confused by the questions asked by the teacher, but Duan Yiqi could answer them immediately. He felt very frustrated and was most afraid of Duan Xu asking him about his homework.
Now that the little sister is here, the teacher knows that his sister came to give him a few days off, but he didn't expect that the little sister would also ask him about his homework.
Chen Ying hung his head and hesitated, so Duan Xu answered his questions about his studies. He Simu shook his head and said in a muffled voice, "I'm entrusting Chen Ying to you, you can't just leave him to the teacher, at least you have to teach him martial arts, right?"
Duan Xu thought for a moment, then turned to look at Chen Ying and said, "Learning martial arts from me is very hard, a hundred times harder than what your master is teaching you now. Do you want to learn from me?"
Chen Ying looked at Duan Xu and then at He Simu, nodded with tears in her eyes, and said, "...Okay, I want it."
Everyone in the room except Chen Ying showed a relieved smile. Chen Ying thought to him, wasn't it just asking a question, how could he have such a tragic ending
After Chen Ying left the room and went to rest in the guest room of Haoyue Residence, Duan Xu put his arm around the drowsy He Simu's shoulders, patted her gently, and said with a smile: "When will you recover from your illness?"
"What for?" He Simu asked vaguely.
"I've been staying indoors for so many days. It's time to go out for a walk. There's a polo match in a couple of days. Do you want to watch me play polo?"