This is the third time that Gu Qingning has been dismissed by Shen Fangyi.

is still the result, he didn't accept a word, and vetoed it all.

Looking at the document she had prepared, the dazzling Zhu Batch, and the deep concave Shangshu imprint, she was impatient, this time she didn't change a word, and went directly to Shangshutang with this rejected article.

She shouldn't have overstepped her ranks, but she didn't want to cause Yin Shaochu to suffer anymore, the first few times Yin Shaochu passed her strip Chen, but she was pushed down by Shen Fangyi, and he was also reprimanded by Shen Fangyi, so she didn't drag him this time.

She came to Shangshutang by herself, ready to ask Shen Fangyi to understand, that Zhu Pi's "the old system cannot be changed, and the normal order cannot be messed up" ten big characters could not send her away!

The lower official asked to see the upper official, the etiquette was thorough, not impatient, waiting for Shen Fangyi to finish dealing with the matter at hand, she entered the hall generously, and the official in the hall was in the main book, etc., just right, she just wanted to bring this matter out in public, so that all the people knew her proposition, and she wanted to force Shen Fangyi to agree.

However, this "coercion" is not coercion, in officialdom, the most important thing is the way to do things, if the same thing is covered with different motives, it is likely to produce completely different effects.

She had already found a high-sounding reason to do this, and she also wanted to pull Shen Fangyi into the water and make the matter relevant to him.

Gu Qingning adjusted her expression and prepared a bunch of coherent words, but before she could formally persuade her, Shen Fangyi spoke first, retreated from everyone, and said that there was something important to discuss with her.

When there were only the two of them left in the hall, Gu Qingning waited for him to say that important thing with doubts.

He walked down from the hall and only walked around Gu Qingning once, his face suddenly became kind, and he kept smiling.

Gu Qingning felt even more uncomfortable, "Adult......"

As soon as she spoke, she was interrupted by Shen Fangyi: "Tsk, it's all a family, what are you called? ”

"Family?" she was puzzled.

Shen Fangyi looked more puzzled than her: "What? Qingning, you still don't recognize your uncle? Your father never said it? No wonder your girl has always been so estranged from her uncle, really, this officialdom is really boring, every day in front of me, I don't know if it's a blood relative......"

She couldn't sort it out for a while, and accepted her incompetence, "Uncle, could it be that my lord is related to my mother?"

Shen Fangyi stroked his beard and smiled: "Yes, your mother Lan Xi, and I are cousins and sisters, the head of the Shen family in Luoyang, that is, your deceased grandfather, and your late father are siblings, Qingning, do you have to call your uncle?"

Seeing Gu Qingning's stunned look, he knew what she was thinking, smiled meaningfully, and said, "I didn't expect it, my niece? However, this is not sudden, it is a family, and there is nothing to hide, to put it bluntly, Qingning, think about it, my uncle's surname is Shen, and he was dismissed by Lu Yuanzhi before, and now he can buy back the position of Shangshu, he is not greedy or dirty, if it is not because of the deep family business, where would he come to donate the silver of the "service order"? In addition to the silver, my uncle was able to come back as an official, thanks to your father, if he hadn't personally examined it for my convenience, I might not have been able to come back...... So if you think about it, isn't it clear?"

It's clear, it's clear, but she still has questions.

His next words really stunned her, he said: "Qingning, in fact, you can enter the Ministry of Industry, it doesn't all depend on Lu Yuanze, my uncle knew that you were here from the beginning, and he intended to turn a blind eye and let you make a big show here, but it was also because your father had already greeted me and asked me to take care of you, but this opportunity was created for you by your father, otherwise how could you be a girl in the officialdom to come this far?"

Her fingers trembled, and she almost couldn't hold the strip in her hand steadily, and then she held it tighter, and her fingertips turned purple.

"Uncle......" She finally spoke, raised her face to Shen Fangyi, and deliberately asked: "Then why does my uncle have to embarrass Qingning three or four times?

Shen Fangyi smiled disapprovingly and said, "Qingning, it's not that your uncle is embarrassing you, it's just that your proposal is really inappropriate, and your uncle really can't give you a way to approve it." ”

"Why? Qingning's proposal for the rectification of the counselors is all deliberate, and it can further gather real talents for the Ministry of Industry, and it is also to let the subordinates at the lowest level get fair treatment, and to arouse their enthusiasm and make the people of the Ministry of Industry more motivated, what is wrong with this? Uncle said that the old system is immutable, but the old system is useless at this time, and if my uncle wants to make a difference, he has to start to rectify it well, and with such innovation, it will definitely make the imperial court pay more attention to his uncle......

She said conclusively, tried her best to persuade, didn't want him to be completely unmoved, or looked like a joke of the junior, and said: "Qingning, you are too young after all, there are many things you don't understand, how can this officialdom be so simple? You yourself just said that the counselor is the lowest level, and my uncle will tell you like this, officialdom only has high and low, there is no fairness, and the lowest level has no right to expect fairness." ”

"Your idea is right, this move is indeed an innovation, which can make the imperial court look up to our department, and I can also gain a good reputation and good reputation, so that the people below will be grateful, but this move will greatly hurt the interests of the people above, including myself, I will lose a lot. ”

She really didn't realize that there was a relationship of interest in this, and hesitated.

Shen Fangyi continued: "Qingning, you have been in the Ministry of Industry for so long and have been a counselor, but you are too lucky, you didn't pay a lot of money to get in like those counselors, I don't know what they have paid to get that alternate position." You also know that none of them came in through the scientific examination, they all participated in the examination and selection of the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Officials, but the examination they participated in was not as rigorous as the imperial examination, and there were people who cheated in the field of science, not to mention this kind of examination? In other words, their opportunities were exchanged for silver, and it was not their talent that determined whether they could be admitted to the department, but the officials of the Ministry of Officials and the Ministry of Industry. ”

"Your Tiao Chen is so decent, and the emperor will sound good if you say anything about reducing the number of counselors, survival of the fittest, and judging people by talent, but do you think that those people who presided over the examination in the Ministry of Officials and Industry would be willing to watch the hundreds of admission places suddenly cut by more than half? What you cut is not the number of counselors, but the silver in their pockets! Therefore, for the sake of the overall interests, my uncle will never let you pass this article. ”

Listening to Shen Fangyi's words, she began to laugh at her childishness, and she was always unwilling, she didn't know how to look at things from the "big picture", she just felt disappointed and angry.

It was as if a beautiful fantasy had been punctured by a hideous reality, and she couldn't bear it.

Yes, she originally thought that the Ministry of Industry was the fairest and most enlightened part of the court, and that the Ministry of Industry was the fairest and most enlightened part of the court, and that it was a place where people could be given the most opportunities and the most fair competition.

It turns out that this is not the case, officialdom and vanity fair, nowhere is not an entanglement of interests.

In fact, the reality that made her even more unbearable was that she thought that the results she had obtained now were all earned by her own sacrifice and hard work, but she didn't expect that she would lose to Shen Fangyi with the sentence "It's all the opportunities your father created for you".

Yes, her father was great, amazing.

Again, her father is the most brilliant chess player in the world.

"My father knows all of this, doesn't he?" she asked.

Shen Fangyi said bluntly: "Of course, do you think that when your uncle saw your folding, he only wrote a sentence and stamped it to perfunctory? After you handed over the first note, I went to your father to discuss, I thought he was planning something, but I didn't expect that this was your own proposition, and he didn't know ......."

……

On that day, when she returned home, she put the three pieces that had been rejected before and after in front of Gu Qingxuan, "Father, since you knew it early on, why didn't you tell me?"

Gu Qingxuan glanced at her Tiao Chen, picked up a copy and opened it, and said, "Then why don't you tell your father?"

"I ......," she was stunned.

Yes, she did not discuss this with Gu Qingxuan in advance, if it wasn't for the fact that the matter had come to this, I am afraid that she would still not have said it to him at this time.

Why is this happening?

At first, she was also like Qinghuan, she would consult with Gu Qingxuan in every detail and ask for his opinions and suggestions.

But in the past few days, she has no intention of talking to him about any decisions she has made.

This is also a question that has puzzled Gu Qingxuan for a long time, and finally clarified it at this time.

His eyes were deep, as if he was helpless and sad: "I'm just waiting, Qingning, when will you open your mouth to me? Or have you already made a decision not to plan officialdom with your father?"

She was speechless, but there was still injustice in her heart, and the resentment that was growing deeper.

"Qingning, you don't trust your father anymore, do you?"

She didn't know what he was thinking, and she didn't know what she was thinking.

In short, it is a cruel thing.

She had been running away for so long, and it was time for her to dissect the cruel doubts in her heart.

"But, father, can I believe it? I don't know how to believe it......" she began, saying what she didn't want to hear.

At that moment, Gu Qingxuan was like being struck, and for the first time there was a kind of dazed self-doubt in his eyes, he looked up at Gu Qingning who was standing in front of him, and in that moment, it was almost instinctive, Gu Qingxuan was not Gu Qingxuan, and he became an ordinary father who was sad because of his children's doubts.

Even if he had guessed this fact a long time ago, when this really came out of Gu Qingning's mouth, it was still difficult for him to accept it.

"Why? Qingning, why? Did my father do something wrong? Did he hurt you? Qingning, don't ...... like this" He lost his composure, his tone changed sharply, and he shook his head in confusion.

Gu Qingning refused to bow his head stubbornly, looked at him condescendingly, and after a while, his eyes were still red, "Why? My daughter also wants to ask you why? Why did I think that Lu Yuanzhi was going to kill Qinghuan that day, and you knew it, father...... But he didn't save him, but only cared about designing to frame Lu Yuanzhi? Is it more important to take revenge on him than to save Qing Huan's life? Father, do you know that if Qingfeng hadn't arrived in time that day, Qing Huan would have been dipped in poisoned wine by Lu Yuanzhi and died?"

"My father played a good hand of chess, calculated everyone, recklessly took advantage of everyone...... In order to destroy Lu, you used the eldest princess of Jinyi as a game, didn't you think about whether she would be able to retreat after she took charge of the military and the Qing monarch's side? Or did you already know that her result would inevitably be death...... Not at all unbearable?"

Gu Qingning's voice became hoarse, because he was biting the words too hard, and it was difficult to breathe, beating his heart, he looked directly at Gu Qingxuan with tears in his eyes, and said: "She is dead, dead in my arms! Father, do you think I can not care at all? Of course, I admit that what shocked me the most was not her suicide, but your ruthless father!"

"Father, you are too ruthless, too ruthless...... So ruthless that you can even give yourself a knife at the expense of your children's allies! Are you not afraid that you will die at all? Is it worth it to destroy Lu? Do you know how I felt when I was told that you were dead?"

"As a result, it was all your calculations, your carefully arranged games, and we, including yourself, were just chess pieces...... Father, before you planned that earth-shattering conspiracy, how did you ever consult with us? How did you ever reveal a word? No, we don't know anything! We are just implicated, pushed to follow your plan, frightened for the life and death of your brother, crying for the bad news of your father's murder, and watching your beloved die in front of you......

"Father, this is what you said to be a family? Qinghuan and I worship you, trust you, obey you, but father, how can you treat us? I also want to pretend that nothing has happened, I have even blamed myself for being suspicious of you for a long time, I want to continue to believe in you and follow in your footsteps ...... father"

"But I can't. ”

"You're so sentimental and suspicious, maybe you shouldn't get involved in officialdom! You won't be able to do anything if you go on like this! Qingning! You're still too young, you just can't hold your breath! Can you think about things only in such a one-sided way?"

He seemed to hate that iron could not be made of steel, so he scolded her, paused for a moment, and took a breath. "Let's just say this Chen, if you have considered the overall situation in advance and carefully understood your superiors, why have you been refuted three times? Why did you only see what your father had done at this time?"

Compared to her increasing excitement, Gu Qingxuan seemed more and more calm, from disbelief to sadness, then to reprimand, and finally only a wry smile, "Qingning, why make more excuses? admit it, you are just angry that it is not you who played this game of chess!"

Gu Qingning suddenly lost control, the pain on his face turned into anger, he overturned the chessboard in front of him, and the black and white chess pieces rolled to the ground, she stepped on these chess pieces, step by step, and walked out of the study angrily.

opened the door and saw Gu Qinghuan standing outside the door.

Gu Qingning was surprised for a moment, turned to a sneer, glanced back at Gu Qingxuan, and walked away with tears in his eyes, no longer looking back.

Everything is torn apart, and it is cruel to the fullest.

Gu Qinghuan stood outside the door, looking at Gu Qingxuan, not moving or speaking.

Gu Qingxuan sighed helplessly, his eyes fell on the ground, and then he got up and squatted down to pick up the chess pieces one by one.

Gu Qinghuan also smiled and silently closed the door for him.

The heat is steaming, the vegetation is verdant, and the world is depressed.

……

From dusk to evening, I walked through the brightly lit Chang'an Street, but instead of going to Jiangyue Tower, I came to the outside of Zhijing Garden.

Gu Qingning stepped on the doorstep and knocked on the door under the elegant lantern, and soon someone responded.

The maid was not surprised to see that it was her, and said calmly and respectfully, "Lord Gu, please come in." ”

She saw that Gu Qingning seemed to have a puzzled look, and then said: "The prince has already instructed that when Lord Gu comes here, he doesn't need to pass it on, he can enter by himself." ”

In fact, it was not this that moved Gu Qingning's heart, but the "Lord Gu" she called, this was the first time that someone outside the officialdom naturally blurted out that she was Lord Gu, not Miss Gu.

The men she came into contact with in the officialdom were embarrassed to call her "adult", and she knew how unwilling those men with lower status than her were unwilling to salute her and call her rank, and those who were higher than her in power were even more disdainful of her as a woman who treated herself as a minister in the court.

This maid's unintentional and natural sentence happened to touch a certain consciousness hidden in the deepest part of her heart.

She followed the maid to Zhongli's bedroom, and the door opened, and when she entered, the door was closed from the outside.

Gu Qingning saw Zhongli half-leaning and half-leaning on the bed through the white screen, his figure was blurred, and before he could make a sound, he had already spoken first: "Qingning, come here." ”

Little by little, she removed the screen in front of her, and gradually saw Zhongli on the couch with his thin clothes fanned out.

There was always a faint smile on his somewhat pale face, and as soon as she hooked her lips, she walked towards him.

"Zi Chu ......"

He looked at her, shook his fan slightly, moved his body to the inside of the couch, moved out of a clearing, and knocked there: "You have finally come to me." ”

Gu Qingning walked over and lay down beside him, he was lying on his side with his head in one hand, and gently sketched on her face with one end of the jade fan with the other.

"You don't look good, are you sick?" she asked, wondering if she was sincere.

He really covered his mouth and coughed, and said with a smile: "Yes, with such a delicate body as this high priest, can you not get sick if you swim in the heart of Weiyang Lake......?"

He didn't complain, and she didn't have to mind, she just said: "Qinghuan is too nervous, not intentional." After all, you can only blame yourself for a lot of things, if you want to do things, just do it, why call those two boys?"

Zhongli snorted and said unconvinced: "If you don't call them, how can I let you know how much I care about you?"