Mu Lin understood his intention and sighed, "Prime Minister Mu is old. He submitted a petition to the palace two months ago. Now, His Majesty has approved it."
Zhang Ze'an's eyes became sharp, and no one could tell what kind of turbulent waves were stirring in his heart beneath his calm face.
Yes, a month ago, the prince also received news about Mu Xiangqi's remains. At the same time, he also received news that Emperor Jingming had been keeping them in his palace and had repeatedly tried to retain them.
Everyone knows that Mu Xiang, as a veteran of the three dynasties of Jingsheng, is a rare and capable minister. Not only Emperor Ming, any monarch would hope that such a minister would work for a few more years. Mu Xiang is now seventy-one and in good health. Zhang Ze'an always thought that Emperor Ming would keep him until he was eighty years old. But he did not guess that Emperor Jingming actually allowed Mu Xiang to retire and return home, and they have not received this news yet.
This is not a simple retirement of a minister. Any action taken by an important minister of Mu Xiang's level will lead to changes in the situation in the Jingsheng court, and may even spread to the southern region thousands of miles away.
These two simple sentences reveal so much information.
Zhang Ze'an's attitude towards Mu Lin changed from being amazed and looking down on a vase to being cautious. He had never considered that Mu Lin would lie to him. There was no such possibility.
Mu Lin let him digest it slowly, lowering his head and drinking water gently. Facing the solemn atmosphere at this time, his expression remained calm as before.
After an unknown amount of time, Zhang Ze'an finally couldn't help but ask, "Excuse me, Miss Mu, who will take over the position of Prime Minister Mu?"
Mu Lin raised his eyes and glanced at him, thinking that he was not too stupid and immediately grasped the key point.
"Zhang Lu." She only said two words.
Counting the days, Lawyer Zhang should take office in the next ten days.
Zhang Ze'an didn't care about being reserved, stared at Mu Lin and asked, "Are you serious?"
Although they both have the surname Zhang, Zhang Ze'an has no relation to Zhang Lu. But he has heard of this person, and even can say that he is well-known to everyone and admires him quite a lot.
There is a widely circulated saying: An official should be like Zhang Wuyin.
Zhang Lu, whose name has no pronunciation.
The only civil servant in Jingsheng who had fought on the battlefield;
He started as a lowly soldier in the last years of the previous dynasty, and in just five years, he made great military achievements and was personally promoted by Emperor Ming to the rank of General of the Central Army.
After returning from the northern frontier, he immediately submitted a letter of resignation, taking the ten thousand gold coins bestowed by Emperor Ming and returning to his hometown;
Two years later, he returned to Kyoto, but he appeared in the examination room, and the results were announced, indicating that he had passed the imperial examination.
He appeared calmly in the palace examination and was selected by Emperor Ming as the runner-up. The harmony between the emperor and his subjects became a good story.
Nine years later, he moved through all six ministries and became the second-rank official in the Ministry of Personnel, becoming a very famous figure.
After sixteen years of ups and downs in his official career and reaching the peak twice, Zhang Lu is not only a legend of Jingsheng, but also a figure that is hard to find in the world in a hundred years.
However, Zhang Lu's methods have always been tough. He is the representative of Jingsheng's pro-war faction and has always suggested using military force against the southern region.
Just because of this point, Zhang Lu will always stand on the opposite side of Zhang Ze'an.
Facing Zhang Zean's questioning, Mu Lin's expression did not change at all. Instead of answering, he asked: "Doesn't the King of the Southern Territory have his own source of information?"
Zhang Ze'an understood the hidden meaning in her words. Soon, they would receive news from Jingsheng and could verify whether her words were true or false.
But they couldn't wait.
But there is a big difference between knowing it early and knowing it late. Most news is valuable only if you know it early enough, because only in this way can you make the most accurate and adequate preparations.
Zhang Ze'an calmed down and held his temper again, "I will consider Miss Mu's words carefully."
"Master Zhang Lu is a hot-tempered person. It is said that he has been on the battlefield for some time and has the swiftness and iron-blooded tactics of a Jingsheng soldier. We are also a little worried..."
Zhang Ze'an's heart moved.
Her words almost made it clear that the Mu family was not optimistic about Zhang Lu. If not against him, at least they did not support him. Zhang Lu and the Mu family were not on the same side, and Zhang Ze'an had always noticed this. Before, Mu had a conciliatory attitude towards the Southern Region, so the Southern Region naturally hoped that the Mu family would prevail.
Isn’t the enemy of my enemy my friend
Zhang Ze'an's smile exudes goodwill. "We all like to be gentle. Only when both sides are gentle will we have the patience to sit down and negotiate."
"City Lord Zhang is right." Mu Lin also smiled slightly, "Although Prime Minister Mu has retired, the Mu family is still there."
The strength of the Mu family did not weaken too much because the children of the Mu family were very competitive.
Zhang Ze'an pondered and said, "The prince will write a letter and send it to the Mu Mansion."
"This is also one of the purposes of my trip." Mu Lin did not hide it.
The most important thing has been said. Zhang Zean hesitated and said, "Miss Mu, I don't know your identity..."
"I came here just for fun, and delivering the letter was just a side trip."
Seeing Mu Lin in her beautiful Southern Region gauze dress and her still somewhat childish and stunning appearance, Zhang Ze'an's smile became even warmer and kinder.
"Today is a good day. Our Nanmo's most beautiful and precious Ruby Princess Ni Ke will hold her fifteen-year-old coming-of-age ceremony tonight. It will be at the Dusk Moon Lake southwest of Fengluo City. I hope Miss Mu will come to visit us tonight."
Before leaving, Zhang Ze'an left behind an invitation card, which had beautiful gold-painted Chinese characters written in a nice font and faintly exuded the scent of exotic roses, as if warmly inviting the distinguished guests to attend Princess Ni Ke's coming-of-age ceremony.
Linglan checked the invitation and found no problem, but she was a little confused.
"Master, can't anyone attend the bonfire party? Why did the city lord send an invitation?"
"Silly, there won't be many people who get the invitation. They are all the distinguished guests of the princess or the King of the Southern Territory. Of course, the treatment of distinguished guests is different."
Places that seem to have no classes are often more rigid in class.
Indeed, everyone in Fengluo City can participate. But not everyone can dance hand in hand with the princess, or attend the dinner prepared by the King of the Southern Territory.
To be honest, Mu Lin didn't care about the invitation. She just wanted to join in the fun. Compared to feasting and laughing with those so-called big shots, watching them clinking glasses and deceiving each other, it was better to have fun with the common people.
Her words have already been spread, so it doesn't matter whether these big shots meet or not.
"Hei Cha, after Zhang Ze'an, has anyone come to visit?"
"My Lord, no."
Mu Lin felt a little annoyed. Why didn't he come to find her
Did she guess wrong? Xiao Muyun was not in the city... or had he forgotten her
…
Jianxian Inn
Xiao Muran walked in excitedly, "Muyun, you know, I just got some interesting news, do you want to know?"
Xiao Muyun felt that his brother's hair was gleaming with gossip, so he naturally would not interrupt his interest. He smiled slightly and said, "I'm all ears."
"Just now, in the teahouse across from our inn, a fairy-like girl appeared, dressed in white clothes as white as snow. People outside have been talking about her for a long time and haven't stopped..."
"oh."
"Hey! Can you please not react so calmly? She's a Han girl who is as beautiful as a fairy!"
Xiao Muyun picked up the cup and took a sip of water, then said casually, "There are many beautiful women in Tianlan."
The implication is that there is nothing surprising.
The rumored most beautiful woman in Kyoto, as well as various beautiful, bright, gentle, domineering... beauties, big and small, like to surround him and ask him questions, and also like to create various encounters. Even someone as indifferent as Xiao Muyun is a little annoyed.
The more beautiful the ladies were, the more they liked to come to him. Maybe they were too confident in their looks and couldn't understand his rejection, or their frustrated self-esteem aroused their desire to conquer him. The more frustrated they were, the more they vowed to win him over. The more beautiful the women were, the more they were like this, so he didn't have a good sense of beauty.
If he didn't have a fiancée, he would have wanted to become a monk long ago.
"Oh, she's not from Tianlan, she's from Jingsheng, her last name is..." Xiao Muran blinked, deliberately keeping the secret.
When he heard the name Jingsheng, Xiao Muyun's heart suddenly skipped a beat and he suddenly raised his head.
"... Lu, yes, the last name is Lu!" Xiao Muran blinked and waved his fan, "Would you like to go with me to take a look? It is said that this Miss Lu is staying in an inn in the north city, and everyone wants to see her..."
A trace of disappointment flashed across his eyes unconsciously. Xiao Muyun looked at his brother quietly and refused: "Brother, go ahead. If I want to see a beauty, I can just look in the mirror."
Xiao Muran: “…” He couldn’t refute it.
Even though my younger brother has an outstanding appearance and is indeed more beautiful than a girl, this shouldn't stop me from appreciating other kinds of beauty, right
Xiao Muran felt that he had an important mission and he had to bring his brother back on the right track!
However, this matter still needs to be considered in the long run. At present, it seems that Xiao Muyun has been annoyed by him...
He sat next to his brother and sighed, "No, no, it's going to be dark soon. You said you would accompany me to the bonfire party. Let's set off in a while."
By then, no beauty can be seen, even fairies will appear, right? Why rush
"Um."
Xiao Muran couldn't help but sigh again, "Brother, with your dull personality, which girl will be able to stand it in the future? Even your fiancée, Miss Mu, are you sure you can please her? What if she regrets the engagement after talking to you for a few words?"
Xiao Muran thought to himself, second brother, you will be single for the rest of your life.
After all, he is the second son of the Hengyang Palace, how could he end up in such a miserable state
Thinking of this, Xiao Muran began to doubt his life again. He knew best how popular his brother was in the capital. He ran into three or four noble ladies when he went out, and was thrown fruits in a cart when he was walking on the street... It was no big deal, okay
Even so, he still exuded a kind of lonely fragrance from his whole body, and never let any woman get close to him. It seemed that he could pick up a Buddhist scripture and become a monk at any time... As his brother, how could he not be worried
He is already seventeen, and will be an adult in three years. If he hadn’t tried it with a man, he would have been sure that his brother didn’t like men either…
I can only hope that Miss Mu, my second brother’s childhood fiancée whom I have never seen since he was five years old, will show up soon under my second brother’s persistent waiting, and the lovers will finally get married.
For this reason, he had specially investigated secretly to make sure that their father did not have an illegitimate daughter outside. Otherwise, the bloody plot of lovers becoming siblings would appear, making the second brother's persistence for more than ten years go to waste, or even a blow. He would be very worried about the second brother's mental state...
Emperor Jingming and Prince Hengyang, who were far away in the sky, sneezed at the same time.
Xiao Muyun watched his brother frowning and laughing, and he was no longer surprised. Who made his brother inherit his late mother Princess Qianji's eccentric personality, and always think differently from ordinary people
The sun sets in the west and night is approaching.