The East Hall was the Emperor's resting suite, the Yangde Hall. The plants in the flowerpots along the wall had been replaced with peonies, and the purple flowers were in full bloom. The hall was well ventilated on both sides, and the cool breeze carried a faint floral scent.
Guo Shao stood up and took down a sword from the wall. He pressed it lightly and heard a click. He grabbed the handle with his right hand and pulled it out. The thin and sharp blade made Guo Shao's heart tighten slightly.
A pure milky smell hit me in the face, it was the butter smeared on the knife. Because this knife is basically a decoration, smearing oil on it is to prevent rust.
Weapons do have a natural aura of danger. Guo Shao held the handle of the knife, so the blade could not hurt him. However, this did not prevent the dangerous blade from making people feel cold.
The feeling is very subtle, with both fear and a certain closeness.
Humans have soft skin, and their teeth and nails are not very sharp; weapons can greatly improve a man's fighting ability. Although it is dangerous, he still relies on it and gets close to it.
Just like a person can't run very fast, but can reach the speed of the wind with the help of a good horse. Riding a horse is also dangerous. If you accidentally fall off a galloping horse, your life will be in danger.
Men's material desires easily include things like precious swords and fine horses, because to stay away from danger out of fear is to stay away from power; but the extension of power can bring deep pleasure.
At this moment, the eunuch Cao Tai came in, bowed and said: Your Majesty, the Zuo Shaoqing has arrived.
Guo Shao raised his head and said: Summon him to the audience.
“Yes.” Cao Tai bowed, then stepped back and walked out the door.
Guo Shao put the sword back into the scabbard and handed it to the palace maid standing beside him. He raised his chin slightly to the side, indicating that she should hang it back on the wall.
The maid took it with both hands, and her arms began to tremble like sieve bran. Guo Shao glanced at her and couldn't help but say: It won't jump up and hurt you, so why be afraid? As long as people really learn to use weapons and respect them, and don't abuse them, there won't be much danger.
After saying this, Guo Shao realized that he had said nothing. The maid didn't understand at all and hurriedly said in a trembling voice: "I know my crime, I know my crime."
Guo Shao no longer paid attention to her.
There was a short wait before Zuo You came in. In this short period of time, Guo Shao did not have time to review and sort out his thoughts in detail; he himself was not clear about the key points and relied on guesswork for many things.
However, in this chaotic situation, Guo Shao had a very clear idea in his mind, which was also the most core concept. That was: now was not the time to fight internal friction and weaken his own minions.
Otherwise, we will be unable to deal with foreign threats, and the humiliation and helplessness caused in the future will still be unpleasant. If the northern national defense line is not perfect and foreign enemies are allowed to grow stronger, we will be forced to sue for peace at any time in the future, and our situation can be imagined.
Sitting in this position, Guo Shao had to look far away.
At this time, Zuo You followed Cao Tai in, walked to the table where Guo Shao was sitting, knelt down and said: "I am here to see you by your order. May your Majesty live long and long."
Zuo Shaoqing stood up. Guo Shaodao.
Zuo You said: Thank you, Your Majesty.
Guo Shao raised his arm and waved it to the side. He waved his sleeves not at Cao Tai or anyone else, but at the empty wall over there. Cao Tai did not dare to stare at the emperor, but he reacted quickly, waved to the palace maids on both sides, knelt down and walked out.
Guo Shao then spoke: I came to meet Zuo Shaoqing today because I want to ask you something.
Zuo You hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, please ask me. I dare not deceive you and will tell you everything I know."
Guo Shao nodded, his expression was very gentle, but his eyes were sharp and energetic. He said directly: "There was a memorial yesterday, written by Shi Yanchao, and you also saw it. He said that Zuo Shaoqing went to Luo Yanhuan's house the night before and met Li Chuyun in the mansion."
Zuo You already knew about this, but it was still very harsh to say it to his face. His face turned pale and he said: "In reply to Your Majesty, it cannot be called a secret meeting. It was Luo Yanhuan's birthday the day before yesterday."
That's not what I'm asking. Guo Shaodao, what I want to ask is, did you tell me about Fan Zhi's letter opposing Empress Duanci's ruling the day before yesterday at Luo Yanhuan's house
Guo Shao looked down at him intently, observing his expression.
This question is indeed very delicate. It seems to be an insignificant detail, but it seems to be the key to Zuo You's position.
When Zuo You went to Luo Yanhuan's house, few people knew about Fan Zhi's memorial, and Li Chuyun of the Palace Front Office could not know it so quickly; as long as Zuo You did not leak the secret in advance, it would prove his loyalty because he and Luo Yanhuan and others had a good private relationship, and he did not mention such an important matter, which proved that he was more protective of the emperor in his heart and had a certain level of closeness.
What's even more bizarre is that there is no way to verify whether Zuo You said it or not; because the next day Guo Shao made Fan Zhi's memorial public to the ministers. Even if he did say it, Li Chuyun and Luo Yanhuan would not have betrayed Zuo You.
Guo Shao observed Zuo You very attentively.
Zuo You immediately clasped his fists and said: "I didn't say a word.
He seemed to have no hesitation at all and looked a little excited. For a moment, Guo Shao believed what he said.
Zuo You said excitedly: "I have said absolutely nothing false. Your Majesty, please summon Li Dianjian and Luo Dushi to confront each other immediately. On Luo Dushi's birthday that day, we talked about our friendship and some small talk, and did not mention any official business. I am good friends with Luo and Li, and I have thought about mentioning Prime Minister Fan's memorial, but I thought that since Your Majesty has not yet expressed his intention, it would be inappropriate to casually tell others."
Guo Shao smiled. He found that Zuo You was a little careless at this time. For example, the sentence about being on good terms with Luo Yanhuan and wanting to mention Fan Zhi's memorial revealed his inner thoughts: whether Empress Duanci was in power or not, why was she so anxious to tell Li Chuyun
Anyway, this kind of words would generally not be said in front of the emperor, regardless of trust or not.
So that's it. Guo Shao nodded. Then it's all right.
It's okay. Zuo You stood there in a daze, seemingly still pondering the relationship between the two.
Guo Shao looked at a table next to Shaoyao, on which was a Go set. This was originally a place for Guo Shao to rest when he was tired from work, and it was filled with many leisure items.
He stood up and said: Shaoqing Zuo, play a game of chess with me.
Zuo You hurriedly said: Yes.
Guo Shao sat down on the couch next to the table, and pointed across the table and said: Sit down and play chess with me.
Thank you, Your Majesty, for giving me a seat. Zuo You's face was still pale, and he reached out and gently wiped his forehead with his sleeve. I don't know if he understands the question just now, but Guo Shao believes that Zuo You will understand it sooner or later. Sometimes people may not react immediately, but as long as they have time to think about it repeatedly, they can generally understand a lot.
Guo Shao smiled and said: "I don't know how to do it. Mr. Zuo, please don't let me down, but you can teach me."
The two of them set up the chessboard. Guo Shao was indeed a terrible player. Although he understood the basic rules, he had barely gotten started. The rules of Go were simple, but the gameplay was quite complicated.
Zuo You obviously did not find it boring to play chess with a beginner, because the beginner was the emperor. He taught him some tricks of chess in great detail.
Guo Shao was also very dedicated. He learned with great interest and understood things quickly.
He understood another way and said happily: So this is the consideration. So that's how it is.
After he finished speaking, he glanced at Zuo You and said calmly: This method seems complicated, but it is actually simple. Some things, as long as they are talked about, are just like that, and it doesn't matter.
Zuo You seemed to be thinking about something, and said hurriedly: Your Majesty is right.
Guo Shao did not emphasize that he believed Zuo You's answer just now. But his attitude had already said it all. After asking that question, he sat down with Zuo You to play chess and seemed very happy. What else was there to say
Guo Shaoxing said excitedly: There are not many things to do to kill time now, but each one has its time. For example, when two good friends are together and there are not many people around, playing Go is very suitable.
Zuo You also laughed and said: That’s right.
Guo Shao slapped his thigh and said, "Hey, Li Chuyun is a warrior like me, maybe he's not that good at chess, why not ask him to come as well? I can try out the tricks I just learned with him, haha."
Zuo You suddenly remembered something after hearing this, and took out a memorial from his sleeve: I had a memorial from Li Chuyun, and I wanted to bring it in to show Your Majesty. But I was distracted before and forgot about it.
Oh Guo Shao reached out to take it.