In the blink of an eye, it was the New Year. Since I had just gotten married, the first New Year was mainly about visiting relatives. The Su family and the Ning family were both large families. Although there was only a seven-day holiday, they were busy all the time and could only visit a small part of the relatives.
Through this round of visits, Fang Zhicheng has basically confirmed his position in the family and is regarded as the next generation of leaders to be trained. There is also a small episode. The central leadership was shaken, and the Ministry of Education was not spared, involving a group of problematic officials.
Su Moru, one of the two swordsmen of the third generation of the Su family, had just arrived at the ministry, and logically, he would not be involved in such a storm. But unexpectedly, it was revealed that his wife Shi Qiao had a close relationship with a deputy director in charge of teaching aids. Since 2006, Shi Qiao bribed the deputy director every year to obtain the exclusive authorization of Shanzhou Province to produce national-level teaching aids. The key thing was that Shi Qiao did this behind Su Moru's back, but when she had problems, Su Moru naturally could not escape the blame.
In order to help his son get through the ordeal safely, Su Jin stayed in Yanjing for nearly a month. Su Qing did not shirk his responsibility. Although he knew that Su Jin secretly encouraged Su Mo Ru to compete with Fang Zhicheng, Su Qing did not stand idly by and used his resources to protect Su Mo Ru and save Shi Qiao from jail. However, after this blow, Su Mo Ru's upward trend is bound to be affected. He needs to lie dormant for a short period of time and wait for the opportunity to make a comeback in a low-key manner.
On the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, Fang Zhicheng met Su Moru in the old house in Shanzhou. Compared with before, he was no longer high-spirited and looked quite depressed. Su Moru was also an open-minded person, willing to accept defeat. Knowing that he lost to Fang Zhicheng in the competition for the family successor, he was relieved and took the initiative to shake hands with Fang Zhicheng.
Fang Zhicheng nodded at him kindly and said, "Let's go find a quiet place to drink tea!"
Su Moru knew that Fang Zhicheng had something to say to her. A bitter look appeared on her face, and she followed Fang Zhicheng to the backyard helplessly.
When Old Master Su was alive, he lived in the backyard. After he passed away, no one lived here, but the servants in the house often cleaned the place, so it looked very clean and quiet. There was a tall locust tree in the middle of the backyard. It was said that it was planted when Old Master Su first moved into the yard. After counting with fingers, the age of this old locust tree was much older than Su Moru and Fang Zhicheng.
Fang Zhicheng ordered the servants to move the chairs out. He went back to the room to get the tea set and brewed Ziyang tea. Before long, the fragrance of tea filled the air. Fang Zhicheng divided the tea into cups and made a gesture of invitation, saying, "Mo Ru, please have some tea!"
Su Moru took a sip. He also knew a lot about tea. He had to say that the tea brewed by Fang Zhicheng was very special. The taste was fresh and rich, and it lingered between the teeth for a long time. Su Moru couldn't help but drink the tea up.
After putting down the teacup, Su Moru said, "Thank you for helping me with the previous matter. My father once said that if you hadn't taken the initiative to ask my aunt to help me, I would probably not be able to escape this disaster."
Fang Zhicheng waved his hand and smiled faintly, "We are one family, so we don't talk behind each other's backs. Although you and I are competing, we are still of the same blood after all. We can compete with each other, but we must not distract our attention when dealing with the outside world."
Su Mo Ru couldn't help but smile awkwardly when he heard Fang Zhicheng say this. If it were in the past, Su Mo Ru might have secretly cursed Fang Zhicheng for being hypocritical, but after the previous small setbacks, Su Mo Ru knew that Fang Zhicheng had done this.
Since Fang Zhicheng's identity was exposed and he was accepted into the Su family, Su Jin has been helping Su Moru, hoping that the Su family can support Su Moru to become the next generation successor. Su Jin even clashed with Su Mo and fought openly and secretly many times at the Shanzhou Provincial Standing Committee. As a result, the Su family was divided into two factions, which also became a hidden danger for the rise of factions.
Under normal circumstances, if Su Mo Ru was in danger, Su Qing would not help him. However, Su Qing finally put aside his prejudice and protected Su Mo Ru, which made Su Mo Ru surprised and grateful.
Su Moru sighed and said, "A soldier who doesn't want to be a general is not a good soldier. When my father was very young, he hoped to revitalize the family line, because he felt that he was the eldest son's line. After all, my grandfather is older than your grandfather. It's a pity that on the road to official career, he was suppressed by his uncle at the beginning, and then by your mother, so he felt very aggrieved. So when I embarked on my official career, he told me earnestly that I would take over the power of the family."
Fang Zhicheng continued to make tea. He said in a light tone: "Mo Ru, the situation in the country is very complicated now. The Su family has been waiting for this moment for many years. We can compete, but we can't rebel against each other. You and I are not much different in age. There is nothing wrong with competing with each other, but we should go hand in hand. Success in the officialdom cannot be achieved alone, and often requires cooperation. You and I are connected by blood. If you and I can stand together, with one heart and one mind, I will feel worry-free."
Su Moru fell silent after hearing what Fang Zhicheng said. In the end, he still had enough pride in his heart, and he was unwilling to bow down and submit to Fang Zhicheng. Su Moru took a sip of tea and said with emotion: "Are you willing to believe me?"
Fang Zhicheng nodded and smiled, "Not yet. Trust is based on sufficient communication and understanding, but we have begun to build a bridge of communication, and I believe that we are not far from mutual trust."
Avoiding this topic, Fang Zhicheng and Su Moru talked about the current situation. Su Moru worked in a ministry and was exposed to a wide range of policy news, and Fang Zhicheng learned a lot from listening to him. Su Moru found that Fang Zhicheng's analytical ability could be described as unfathomable. A simple piece of news, under his detailed analysis, became not as simple as imagined.
Su Moru smiled bitterly and said, "I understand you a little bit. You do have a talent for being an official. You always see things more thoroughly and far-sightedly than ordinary people."
Fang Zhicheng smiled modestly and said, "You have much more experience than I do."
After a pot of tea, Fang Zhicheng successfully became closer to Su Moru. After seeing Su Moru off, Su Lin found Fang Zhicheng and said with a smile: "You act quite experienced. Su Moru has always been arrogant, but today he was fooled by you."
Fang Zhicheng smiled and said, "Uncle, isn't this in accordance with your request? We must unite the people and things around us. Apart from that annoying high profile, Su Moru is still a very talented person. If the Su family is to grow and develop in the future, I can't rely on myself. We still need other forces."
Su Lin nodded and said with a smile: "You are becoming more and more stable. No wonder your second uncle often praises you."
Fang Zhicheng smiled awkwardly and said, "Don't be perfunctory with me. How could my second uncle possibly praise me?"
Su Lin patted Fang Zhicheng on the shoulder and said with a smile: "The reason why your second uncle is so strict with you is because he has high hopes for you. You have to understand him. He is just such a person, but he is still very kind in his heart."
Seeing that Su Lin still treated him as a child, Fang Zhicheng smiled and said, "Don't worry, I'm not a child. I can sense cold and warm, and distinguish between good and bad."
Su Lin nodded and said, "Wang Guoyue called me a few days ago and hoped to meet you. His schedule has been confirmed and he will go to Caoyao City to serve as the municipal party committee secretary."
Fang Zhicheng raised the corner of his mouth and said disdainfully: "This guy knows how to choose the time."
Su Lin sighed and said, "The people in the central government are indeed in a panic now. Except for the Tang faction, most of the forces are fleeing. In particular, the northern faction has deployed all its potential pawns to the local areas in the hope of making a comeback after many years."
Fang Zhicheng had a good impression of Wang Guoyue at first, but he changed his mind after meeting the secret surveillance personnel around Sui Qi. Wang Guoyue was not as upright as imagined. His image of being kind to others was probably just a careful disguise. It was hard to say what kind of person he really was.
Zang Yi also mentioned Wang Guoyue to Fang Zhicheng, and only commented that he was an unfathomable person.
Fang Zhicheng sighed, "I should keep some distance from Wang Guoyue. It's not appropriate for us to meet for the time being."
Su Lin asked, "Are you afraid of him?"
Fang Zhicheng shook his head and said, "If he wants to see me, do I have to see him? There is no such thing in the world, right?"
Su Lin was slightly startled, then smiled faintly and said, "Okay, then I'll reject him for you. However, rejecting someone is not a good sign."
Fang Zhicheng sighed, "Let him feel resentful towards me, I don't care."
Fang Zhicheng didn't know why he was so disgusted with Wang Guoyue, maybe it was because of Sui Qi. Fang Zhicheng had been denying that he had any feelings for Sui Qi, and only regarded her as his friend, but in fact, this feeling had begun to ferment quietly.
Su Lin and Fang Zhicheng separated. Not long after, Su Mo stood beside him and asked softly, "Have you tried to find out?"
Su Lin shook his head helplessly and said with a wry smile: "That kid doesn't seem to like Wang Guoyue very much."
Su Mo's eyes flashed with a gleam of light, and he whispered, "If you don't like it, that's right."
Su Lin frowned and lowered his voice, saying, "You don't want Zhicheng to face off against Wang Guoyue, do you?"
Su Mo did not comment, but smiled faintly and said, "Zhicheng has already surpassed Zang Yi. If he wants to go further, he naturally has to choose a suitable opponent. Wang Guoyue is a pretty good person."
"Second brother, your smile is really ugly!" Su Lin said unhappily, "You want Wang Guoyue to be Zhicheng's whetstone, but Wang Guoyue is not an easy person to deal with!"