As the New Year approached, Xiao Jingrui, Yan Yujin and Xie Bi finally returned to the capital from Huqiu Hot Spring. Only one day after returning, they were surprised to find that they had only been away for more than a month, and the situation in the capital had changed rapidly, becoming more lively and turbulent than when they left.
In fact, in recent years, the battle between the prince and the prince has reached a stalemate because of the equal strength of the two sides. Unexpectedly, all this is just a matter of accumulation, and it only takes a small touch to immediately enter the climax of offensive and defensive battles. Concubine Yue was surrendered, Lou Zhijing fell from power, Duke Qing Guo ransacked his house, He Wenxin was sentenced to beheaded... This wave after wave made people a little overwhelmed. Now that Concubine Yue has just been reset, several censors have joined together, pointing out that the rituals of the Ministry of Rites were inappropriate when presiding over the sacrificial ceremony. King Yu took advantage of the situation to invite more than a dozen contemporary Confucian scholars with high morals and respect, and launched a court debate, the topic pointed directly at Yue The extraordinary treatment that the concubine has received over the years, and the lack of etiquette of the prince in front of the queen.
Putting nothing else aside, the dozen or so old gentlemen invited by King Yu are indeed very important. It can be seen that his efforts to respect the scribes over the years have not been in vain, and he has accumulated a lot of contacts. Among them is an old Mr. Zhou Xuanqing, who has lived in Lingyin Temple in western Beijing for many years. That is the top priority. It is usually difficult to see him, no matter the royal family, but this time he even moved a big car and entered Jinling City in person. Impressed by Yuwang's potential.
But what is strange is that after this old Mr. Zhou came to Beijing, he did not live in the Liuhe Garden specially arranged by King Yu for these great Confucians, but instead lived in Prince Mu's Mansion.
According to some well-informed sources, it seems that when Mr. Zhou left Lingyin Temple, Mr. Mu Xiaowang personally brought a car and a sedan to greet him, and he has never seen a single person after moving into Mu’s mansion, not even King Yu. exception.
But who did Mr. Zhou Xuanqing invite? It doesn't matter who he has met or not. What matters is his status as a university consultant. Even Emperor Liang should be treated with courtesy when he goes to court. In addition, he is rigorous in his studies. Well-argued, people who don't have two brushes, don't try to argue with him.
In this way, the Ministry of Rites is really difficult to compete with, even Yan Yujin, who has always been frivolous and rude, can judge the prince's defeat in advance.
In the end, the court debate lasted only three days before the curtain fell. Although the concubine Yue was reset, she was not allowed to stand on the altar with the emperor and queen during the sacrificial ceremony. Shu, Chen Yuancheng was dismissed, and because of his old age, he was allowed to serve, and he did not study it further. The crown prince was also repeatedly emphasized in public by King Yu in the court because of his status as a concubine. He was so embarrassed that he could not hold back his palm and slapped King Yu in the face, and was scolded by Emperor Liang in court. In the midst of the chaos, King Jing stood quietly among the princes and watched, with a demeanor of flattery and humiliation, which left an excellent impression on many courtiers who had not paid attention to him.
In this way, not long after the head of the Ministry of Household was changed, the Ministry of Rites became the second head of the Ministry.
When Chen Yuancheng shook his gray hair and took off the official hat that had been worn for nearly 20 years from his head, King Jing seemed to see the pale hand that was fiddling lightly behind his back, and the The expression is light, and it seems that the face of Qingsu will never get excited.
But for most people, they don't even know that in this matter, there is still the existence of Su Zhe, who has gradually calmed down.
The two days of sunny days did not bring about an increase in temperature, but made the cloudless morning even colder. Not long after the city gate was opened, the soldiers guarding the gate saw an extremely luxurious carriage, escorted by about a hundred knights.
Even if he didn't recognize the sign of Prince Mu's mansion in front of the carriage, he knew that the visitor was not an ordinary person, so the small school headed hurriedly greeted his subordinates to get out of the way, bowed his waist and respectfully let the group swagger out of the city.
Because the weather was too cold, the driver breathed out white air one after another, but because of the thick curtains and the heater, there was not much chill in the car.
The two passengers sitting in the car, one is very old, the other is still a teenager, the other is clothed and cotton-padded shoes, and the other is embroidered robe and beaded crown. The ground moves.
"Grandpa Zhou, do you want to drink tea?"
The old man did not open his eyes and shook his head.
After a while, "Grandpa Zhou, would you like a snack?"
The old man silently refused again.
After a while, "Grandpa Zhou, would you like to try this ginger candy?"
Mr. Zhou Xuanqing finally lifted his eyelids and glanced at him. Mu Qing's face was full of innocent smiles, and he leaned over with ginger candy: "This is delicious."
Mr. Zhou, who is strict in the Qing Dynasty, has an awe-inspiring temperament that he has cultivated for many years, but the young prince Mu Qingmu doesn't seem to feel this kind of temperament. From the beginning, he regarded this old gentleman as an ordinary grandfather. At most, after Zhou Xuanqing refuted the other party speechless in the court, he was very happy to breathe a sigh of relief for his sister, and then corrected the original impression to "An ordinary grandfather who is very capable", so when he gets along with each other in daily life, he still focuses on intimacy, supplemented by Gong Su, without any alienation at all.
Mu Xiaowang is young and handsome, lively and cheerful, and he is a very cute junior. Of course, Zhou Xuanqing still likes him very much, but his usual prudence makes this old man always look indifferent. When the young man handed the ginger candy to his mouth, he still shook his head and refused, with no special expression.
"This one doesn't stick to your teeth." Mu Qing introduced thoughtfully, "Take a bite?"
"Let's eat it yourself, little prince." Zhou Xuanqing said coldly, his old eyes narrowed slightly, looking at the tassels on the top of the sedan chair, and after a period of silence, he suddenly said: "Little prince, that token, the old man can look at it again. For a moment?"
"Oh," Mu Qing hurriedly swallowed the ginger candy, grabbed the towel on the side and wiped the icing on his fingers, and then took out a small cloth bag from his arms and handed it to Zhou Xuanqing.
He tore open the seal of the cloth bag and fell to the palm of his hand, and a jade cicada fell out. The carving was lifelike, and the jade was exceptionally shiny and lovely. At first glance, it was a precious jade article of great value.
But for Zhou Xuanqing, the meaning of this jade cicada is not in its value.
"Little prince, you said that the person who asked you to bring this Yuchan to see me will wait for me outside the city?"
Mu Qing nodded, "That's what he said in the letter. He said he would come to see you on your way back to Lingyin Temple from Beijing."
Zhou Xuanqing let out a "hmm", folded his fingers, held Yuchan in the palm of his hand, and closed his eyes again.
After walking for another half an hour, the carriage suddenly swayed and stopped. Mu Qing lifted the curtain and glanced at it, then turned around and said, "Grandpa Zhou, the person you want to see is here."
Zhou Xuanqing's gray eyebrows moved, and tremblingly supported Mu Qing's hand out of the carriage, while he was looking around, a middle-aged man stepped forward and said respectfully, "Mr. Zhou, my suzerain is over there. Waiting for a long time, please move the old gentleman." Then he replaced Mu Qing, supported the old man's arm, and carefully helped him to turn the vertical rock beside the road, to the other side of the curve, which was sheltered from the wind and unobtrusive. In the recess, Mei Changsu, with white fur and black hair, stood there with a smile on his face, bowed slightly and saluted.
Zhou Xuanqing narrowed his eyes, looked at him carefully for a while, spread out the jade cicada in his hand, and asked, "Is this jade cicada yours?"
"Exactly."
"Where did you get it from?"
"Gift from Mr. Li Chongli."
"Who is Li Chong from you?"
"I was taught under Mr. Li Lao."
Zhou Xuanqing frowned and said, "Brother Li was a grandfather back then and did not reject commoners. He set up a teaching altar outside the palace wall, and there were not 10,000 or 8,000 students under the door. Naturally, they were all over the world. But in the end, he was most proud of it. But there are so few people, Lao Xi and him are friends of learning, and the friendship is not strong but deep, so I recognize all these people, but the steps... Lao Xi has never been masked... "
Mei Changsu smiled lightly: "I'm not good at learning, I have a reputation as a tiring teacher, and I haven't been taught for a long time. It's only natural that the old gentleman doesn't recognize me."
Zhou Xuanqing stared at him for a while, then sighed, "Forget it, you have Brother Li's token, you should help yourself, but I didn't expect to see my old friend Yuchan again after a few years. When Brother Li was banished from the capital, he was full of worries and anger and vowed not to look back, and the old man didn't know if he really wanted to go to court this time..."
Mei Changsu's eyes were calm, and he said quietly: "My teacher was convicted that day, only to be blunt, but he was burdened by his heart. He knew that he had the face of a dragon, but he still said what he wanted, and he never regretted it. Therefore, the younger generation believes that the so-called world and all things are everywhere. It is the way to be hidden in the mountains and forests, and it is also the way to be exposed in the temples. Why should you be obsessed with where you stand?"
Zhou Xuanqing raised his white eyebrows lightly, his old eyes flashed brightly, and nodded: "Although you haven't been taught for a long time, you can detect his roots, it seems that he left this jade cicada to you, It is indeed a wise eye. I wonder if you can understand the meaning of Brother Li wearing this cicada?"
Mei Changsu slowly put his hands behind his back, slightly raised his chin with clear lines, and murmured: "It's hard to fly in with a heavy dew, and it's easy to sink when the wind is loud. No one believes in Gao Jie, who will show your heart?"
Zhou Xuanqing closed his eyes gently, as if he was precipitating his emotions for a long time, while Mei Changsu looked peaceful, staring at the sky and no longer opening his lips. The two stood silently in the cold winter, but there was no embarrassment in the scene. It was as if they met like this, just to silently regret some of the past years.
"If I can see Brother Li Gaozu again in my lifetime, I wish it was enough," Zhou Xuanqing slowly put the jade cicada in his palm back into Mei Changsu's hand, and said in a low voice, "I don't know what great cause I have in the capital, I only wish Don't forget your master's reputation and cherish it."
Mei Changsu bowed respectfully and said, "Mr. Yayan, the younger generation should keep this in mind. In such a cold season, the old gentleman traveled in the snow for the old friendship regardless of his old age. The younger generation is really grateful."
Zhou Xuanqing waved his hand and said: "Seeing this jade cicada, don't say it's just a trip to the city, even if the old man goes to the frontier fortress, it is not a problem. Now that the entrustment is over, the old man has to go back to the temple to clean up. , let it go."
Mei Changsu hurriedly raised his hand to signal to the middle-aged guard who was waiting a few feet away to come and help, and at the same time bowed his body and said, "Please slow down, old gentleman."
Zhou Xuanqing let out an "en", and was supported by the guards, turned around and walked a few steps, then suddenly stopped, turned back and said, "Brother Li had a beloved disciple back then, although he was the keeper of the gate, his temperament was high, but he was rare and intelligent. , read thousands of scrolls, if you were there at that time, maybe you could be called a double jade with him."
Mei Changsu's pale complexion looked like ice and snow in the cold air, a cold smile floated on his lips, and he said softly, "The old gentleman has raised his love. For such a person, I only hate the younger generation for not being able to admire his demeanor."
"Yeah, this person...I'll never see you again..." Zhou Xuanqing said slowly, a look of sadness in his eyes, turned around, and left without looking back.