Just after dawn, the heavy city gates of the capital slowly opened, and all kinds of people waiting outside the city were waiting to enter the city in an orderly manner. Among the crowd was a carriage that had arrived and was waiting here late at night. After showing his identity document, the carriage drove into the capital. After walking for a while, the carriage stopped. A servant got out of the carriage and went in the other direction. Courtyard Street, here is the place where important court officials and relatives of the emperor live together. The carriage stopped in front of a mansion, and the gold plaque on the gate was written with four words - [Shixue Wengfu].
The carriage stopped at the main entrance, and one person got out of the carriage to answer the door. The vermilion gate opened, a young servant poked his head out, the two exchanged a few words, the young servant immediately opened the gate, first told the other person to report to the master, and then hurried down the stairs to lead the carriage himself.
Shixue Weng Mansion is the residence of Shi Xueweng, the emperor of the two dynasties. In his later years, the first emperor spoiled his concubine indulgently and listened to slander, which made the court smoky, the family and the country were in turmoil, and the people were in dire straits. Weng Lao tried his best to turn the tide, and assisted the then prince and the current Yongming Emperor to keep the crown prince among the other princes who were covetously, and successfully ascended the throne. Afterwards, Mr. Weng retired to the Imperial College of the Imperial Academy to select talents for the imperial court, to share the worries of the emperor, and to have both loyalty and righteousness, which earned him the trust of Emperor Yongming.
Not long after Weng Lao just got up, he was surprised to hear that his student Jiang Kangning had come to visit. Jiang Kangning was the county magistrate in Yongxiu County, why did he suddenly return to Beijing? Those who are officials abroad are not allowed to enter the capital unless they are called by the emperor, even if Jiang Kangning himself is from the capital. Weng Lao immediately realized that something big must have happened to Jiang Kangning. He immediately ordered the housekeeper to take Jiang Kangning to the study.
Weng Lao had just sat down in the study when Jiang Kangning arrived, followed by several house servants, carrying two wine barrels and two large bamboo boxes. Jiang Kangning saluted the teacher, and Weng Lao opened his mouth and asked, "Ning'er, what happened? Why did you come to Beijing so rashly?"
"Father, the child has something important to report, and the child is worried about passing it on to others, so he went to Beijing privately." Jiang Kangning took out a thick book from his arms and presented it with both hands. Weng Lao took it carefully, let Jiang Kangning sit down and ordered his servants to bring tea and breakfast. Outsiders only know that Jiang Kangning is Weng Lao's favorite student, but everyone in the court knows that Jiang Kangning is actually Weng Lao's adopted son.
Jiang Kangning almost didn't sleep all night, but he looked extraordinarily energetic. Seeing that he looked good, Mr. Weng looked at him reassuredly that something bad had happened. After reading a few lines, he looked at Jiang Kangning in surprise, and his expression became more serious. The servants quickly brought refreshments to eat, and Jiang Kangning was indeed hungry. Seeing his adoptive father, he must not be in the mood to eat, so he was not restrained, and started to eat and drink by himself. When Jiang Kangning finished eating and drinking, Mr. Weng was still reading, patting the table from time to time and shouting "Okay, great".
Jiang Kangning asked someone to put away the food tray, and brought the best sweet spring water in the mansion, and took out a tea set and a can of tea leaves from a bamboo box he brought.
After reading it, Mr. Weng looked at Jiang Kangning with piercing eyes: "Okay, the writing is excellent! Ning'er, how did you think of it? Did you bring the tea?"
Jiang Kangning took the tea set and tea canister to the long table in front of his adoptive father: "Father, my son is ashamed, these thoughts are not from my son."
"Huh? How to say?"
All the people who came to visit Mr. Weng early in the morning were stopped by the housekeeper, who only said that the master had something important to do and couldn't meet the guests. In Old Weng's study room, the fragrance of tea wafted. Tasting a dragon well, Mr. Weng squinted his eyes happily again, and said with emotion: "I didn't expect such a wonderful idea to come from a farmer's son. I feel ashamed for my father."
Jiang Kangning said: "Then Shao Yun'an is indeed a wonderful person. He has already had contact with Wei Hongwen's subordinates, and I also told him Wei Hongwen's identity, but he still insisted on handing over the business of tea and wine to my brother, saying that he knew me , but he didn’t recognize the son of Lord Hou. He kept saying that he wanted me to be his backer.”
Weng Lao laughed a few times: "This man is not only a wonderful person, but also a little fox."
"hehe… "
Weng Lao took another sip of tea and asked, "Then, you should quickly pour a cup for Weifu."
Jiang Kangning was helpless: "Father, you haven't eaten early in the morning."
Old Weng stared at him: "Then why don't you hurry up and ask for something to eat for your father."
Jiang Kangning asked someone to bring breakfast quickly, and made a new cup of tea for his adoptive father himself. Weng Lao looked at the cans of tea with eyes shining and it was a pity that there were too few, too few.
After hastily eating breakfast, Mr. Weng immediately asked Jiang Kangning to pour him wine. While he was eating, Jiang Kangning sobered up first. After taking a sip, Old Man Weng's eyes widened. Looking at the two barrels of wine was like a wolf that had been hungry for a long time seeing a fat and tender sheep. Jiang Kangning hurriedly said: "Father, I only brought these two barrels of wine to Beijing, and I have to send them to the emperor for tasting."
"Why don't you bring some more!"
Jiang Kangning was helpless again: "I'm afraid I won't be able to sell them for a penny if I bring them all. Foster father, now the main purpose is to make money for the emperor. My boy promises that next year you will have enough wine and tea to drink."
"you said!"
"Baby said it. Yunan is Haier's foster brother, and you can't miss anyone's wine and tea. But adoptive father, you can't drink any more. If you drink too much wine, you will get sick. You have to help the boy face Seeing the emperor. This time, my son went to Beijing privately."
"Drink another glass, you won't get drunk. Don't worry, the emperor will never punish you. This wine is still too little."
"..."
Jiang Kangning didn't want to say that the person who came to his mind at this moment was Mr. Cen.
Hearing that the emperor's master asked to see him, Emperor Yongming, who had just come down to court, immediately summoned him. Old Weng held a jar of tea in one hand and a small jar of goat milk fruit wine in the other, and followed the eunuch who reported the news into the imperial study. The eunuch walking in front of him was carrying a bamboo box. After Weng Lao came in, Emperor Yongming immediately gave him a seat. Weng Lao was the master of the emperors of the two dynasties, and he contributed a lot to Emperor Yongming's success in ascension to the throne of God. However, Weng Lao was never proud of his kindness. Have more trust in Weng Lao.
After Mr. Weng sat down, he asked someone to fetch the best water in the palace, and said he wanted to make tea. Emperor Yongming looked at Elder Weng with a smile, motioned the eunuch to fetch water, and asked curiously: "I see that the emperor's teacher is very happy today, did he come here specially to drink tea with me? Coincidentally, I just got some good Tea, I am about to order someone to deliver it to the emperor."
Old Weng put the two pots in his hand on the table at hand, and said, "Your Majesty, I came here to invite the Emperor to drink tea. Dare I say, the emperor's tea is definitely not as good as my tea."
"Oh? I think the tea in my hands is the best tea in my Great Yan Kingdom. Does the emperor have better tea than me?"
"Naturally. There is not only good tea, but also good wine. The emperor is diligent in political affairs, and occasionally needs to relax. Since the emperor ascended the throne, the subject and the emperor have never sat together to taste tea or drink wine."
A touch of nostalgia appeared in the eyes of the emperor: "Yes. Then I must taste the 'good tea' and 'good wine' of the emperor's teacher today. Come on, I have important matters to discuss with the emperor's teacher today. disturb."
"yes."
Jiang Kangning was waiting outside the palace. With his status, unless the emperor summoned him, he was not qualified to meet the emperor, even if he was Weng Lao's adopted son. Jiang Kangning came to Beijing suddenly, but all the officials and dignitaries who were concerned about Weng Lao and the emperor got the news very quickly, especially after Jiang Kangning entered Beijing, Weng Lao immediately entered the palace, and everyone speculated about the deep meaning of this.
It was past noon, and Jiang Kangning was not hungry at all. He ate some food before coming, knowing that he would wait for a long time. If the adoptive father comes out, the emperor will definitely summon him, but he doesn't know when it will be. Shao Yun'an hoped that he could recruit two great masters into the group, and Jiang Kangning was not complacent about it. If this matter is really as he and Shao Yun'an envisioned, then... thinking of his brother, Jiang Kangning clenched his fists. The county magistrate is just a cornerstone for him to be an official. One day, he will be an extremely human minister!
"This is Jiang Kangning, the magistrate of Yongxiu County, Mr. Jiang?"
A father-in-law in charge came over to inquire. Jiang Kangning's spirit was shaken, and he saluted: "The next official is right."
"The emperor summoned, please Mr. Jiang go with our house."
"Trouble your father-in-law."
Jiang Kangning stuffed a small piece of silver ingot to the other party to suppress the boiling blood in his body.
In the imperial study room, Emperor Yongming flipped through a special thick book-like memorial back and forth, saying "good, good" from time to time. There are three crystal cups in front of him, one cup is green Longjing tea, the other cup is purple goat's milk fruit wine, and the other cup is golden golden chrysanthemum tea. The three cups look really nice together.
"Old Master, you have a good student, a good son. Jiang Kangning's thoughts are really good!"
Weng Laodao: "Kang Ning is indeed the smartest of my students, and he is also dedicated to the court and the emperor's thoughts. I don't hide the truth from the emperor. Although this is what Kang Ning thought and wrote, it is also controlled by the emperor. Let me mention something about the farmer who made tea and wine. This farmer also had a miserable life experience, and his experience made Kang Ning empathize with him, so Kang Ning recognized him as his brother-in-law. The two also hit it off, and it was influenced by him that made Kang Ning think so."
As Shao Yun'an, receiving too much attention, especially the emperor's attention, is not a good thing, but a disaster. So Jiang Kangning bluntly said that he needs to take the credit for himself, Shao Yunan also understands this, and understands that Jiang Kangning's doing so will benefit him and not harm him. Elder Weng knew about this, Jiang Kangning did not hide it from him, and Elder Weng also agreed with Jiang Kangning's approach. But such a business idea really came from Shao Yun'an. In order to avoid some troubles that may be caused in the future, Old Man Weng mentioned Shao Yun'an before the emperor.
Weng Lao briefly mentioned the matter of Shao Yun'an and Wang Shijing, and the emperor understood why Jiang Kangning valued those two farmers. He also didn't pay too much attention to Shao Yun'an's uniqueness, but for Jiang Kangning, the emperor greatly appreciated it this time.
After Jiang Kangning came to the imperial study, Emperor Yongming asked him in detail about his idea of gradually developing the business of the Great Yan Kingdom with tea as a starting point. Emperor Yongming was very short of money, so short that he even had no money to repair the palace after he succeeded to the throne, so short that his own private treasury was almost empty. If you want to ask Emperor Yongming whether he is envious of the wealth of the Hengyuanhou Mansion, the answer is definitely yes. But he can only be greedy, and can't ransack other people's homes. For this reason, every time Emperor Yongming saw the courtiers who would only fight for power and profit in the court, and would not really share his worries, he would get angry. And every time the household department cried to him about poverty, saying that money was needed everywhere, Emperor Yongming wished to kick the household department minister into the moat. Now, finally someone can really give him the best. Emperor Yongming who was in a good mood ate two extra bowls of rice for lunch, completely forgetting that Jiang Kangning was still starving and freezing outside.
Jiang Kangning's meeting with the emperor lasted until dark. Emperor Yongming who was in a good mood even gave Jiang Kangning a meal with him. The business idea was proposed by Shao Yun'an, but Jiang Kangning planned it carefully for several nights. Therefore, Jiang Kangning explained the emperor's questions in great detail. Emperor Yongming was very satisfied with Jiang Kangning, and Weng Lao also had a bright face. It wasn't until the palace gate was about to close that Elder Weng and Jiang Kangning walked out of the imperial study and left the palace.
After tasting the last sip of goat's milk wine in the cup, Emperor Yongming stood up: "Come here, take these things to 'Jingyou Palace', I will rest there tonight."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Jingyou Palace is the queen's bedroom. In the second year of Emperor Yongming's accession to the throne, he abolished the empress who had been crowned by the crown princess, and appointed a man from the side branch of the generation's family as the empress. This incident caused shock and controversy in the court at that time. The emperor took it back. But Emperor Yongming was unmoved, and after taking off the black hats of several officials who reacted most fiercely, and in the silence of the Weng Lao faction, the matter was suppressed.
But the new queen was not accepted by the officials because of this, because the new queen was already twenty-five years old when she was canonized, and now two years have passed, the new queen has not been able to conceive for a long time, and Emperor Yongming only has two concubines and one noble person, and only one A prince who was born to a concubine and whose biological mother had died, and a princess born to a concubine could be said to have few heirs. Emperor Yongming was already in his thirties, and there had never been a break in the court for Emperor Yongming to choose a concubine. However, Emperor Yongming, citing the emptiness of the treasury, has been delaying the drafting of girls, and always staying overnight with the queen. The courtiers dare not say anything wrong with the emperor, so they point the finger at Qi You, the descendant of the emperor, and also point the finger at the Dai family. .
Walking to Jingyou Palace, Emperor Yongming Murongkun waved away the maids and eunuchs and walked in alone. Qi You, the descendant of the emperor who had received the news, stepped forward to undress the emperor, with a smile on his handsome face.
"I heard that the emperor and Mr. Weng stayed in the imperial study all day, and they were in a good mood, but something good happened?" Dai Qiyou asked curiously.
Murong Kun was not annoyed at the empress' inquiry about political affairs, and said with a smile, "It's a good thing. Has the thing I sent you been delivered?"
"Delivered."
"Come on, let me tell you what a good thing it is."
Holding Dai Qiyou's callused hand, Murong Kun walked towards the inner hall. Looking at the rarely seen relaxed and happy face on the emperor's face, Dai Qiyou also smiled, and his heart was also full of curiosity.
After leaving the palace, Jiang Kangning returned to the Emperor's Mansion with his adoptive father. After the two chatted for a long time, Jiang Kangning bid farewell to his adoptive father and left. In the same carriage as when he came, Jiang Kangning drove towards another street.
The carriage stopped in front of the gate of an ordinary house, and immediately someone came up to lead the horse and lift the curtain. Jiang Kangning got out of the car, and the attendant immediately said, "Second Young Master, you are back, Eldest Young Master has been waiting for you all day."
"Is brother asleep?"
"No, I've been waiting for you to come back."
Jiang Kangning hurried into the house and went straight to his brother's residence.
Jiang Kangchen, who was sitting by the bed, continued to pat his sleeping son restlessly. Someone knocked on the door outside the house, Jiang Kangchen stopped his hand, and immediately got up to go out. Opening the door, Jiang Kangchen excitedly pulled the person in when he saw the person outside, and asked in a low voice, "Kang Ning, is something wrong?"
Jiang Kangning closed the door with his backhand, and comforted him: "Brother, it's okay. I came to Beijing this time to report something good to the emperor, so I didn't have time to see you first."
Jiang Kangchen was relieved when he heard it, and hurriedly asked, "Have you eaten yet? I'll ask someone to get you something to eat."
"I've eaten it. I ate it in the palace. Where's Xi'er?"
"Xi'er is asleep. Kang Ning, is there really something wrong?" Jiang Kangchen was still a little worried.
"Nothing happened. It's a serious matter. I can't send others here. Brother, are you okay? Is there any trouble for you over there?"
Jiang Kangchen smiled: "No, Xi'er and I are fine."
Jiang Kangning didn't expose his brother's lies, but instead said: "Brother, if you're not tired, go to the study. I have something to tell you, it's a big deal."
As soon as he heard that his younger brother had something important to tell him, Jiang Kangchen immediately expressed that he was not tired, and the two brothers went to Jiang Kangchen's study. On the bed, a child about seven or eight years old was sleeping peacefully with a piece of wood in his hand.