Guo Pu stayed in the Wuyi Hall for a while, and before leaving, he handed over a green word to the Wanshou Palace, and bowed respectfully to Jiajing, who was cultivating in the quiet room, before turning around and leaving the West Garden.

The fact that he was able to sit firmly in the position of the official secretary was not because of how high his prestige in the officialdom was, everything was due to the grace of the saint. Even a high-ranking Xu Jie, he didn't dare to start a war with him easily.

Coming out of the West Garden, the sun has set in the west.

An ordinary palanquin waited under the tree next to the palace gate for a long time, and after seeing Guo Pu's figure, he hurried to Guo Pu's side as soon as possible.

"Go home!"

Guo Pu, who was wearing a first-class official uniform, got into the sedan chair, but he did not plan to return to the yamen of the official department, but chose to return home directly, and spit out two words full of majesty.

On the way back, he ignored what was going on outside the window and quietly carried out a deep reflection.

He was a fourteen-year jinshi in Jiajing and one of Xia Yan's protégés. Although he was not as dazzling as Wu Shan, and was favored by the teacher who was the secretary of the Ministry of Rites at the time, he had great respect for this teacher.

In the seven years when he first entered the officialdom, he saw how the teacher went to the peak of power, and how he fell from the peak of power and became the first assistant to be beheaded in the history of the Ming Dynasty.

It was from this teacher that he saw clearly the essence of this officialdom.

The emperor is the source of power, and if you want to gain more power, you must not only win the trust of the saint, but also cut off competitors. Just like Yan Song to Xia Yan in the past, Xu Jie's face to Yan Song today.

If he wants to gain greater authority, he also needs to cut off dissidents, and Wu Shan has already become the biggest obstacle to his career, so he should naturally join forces with Xu Jie to remove this roadblock.

February is a season full of life.

In the courtyard of Guo's mansion, the flower garden that was originally covered by ice and snow has begun to glow with new vitality at this time. As the snow melted in the spring, the withered branches sprouted.

"Lin Haoran is here?"

As soon as Guo Pu returned to the study, he heard the housekeeper come in to report, and his brows couldn't help frowning slightly.

As the day of Jingcha approached, more and more officials came to the door in every possible way. It's just that he doesn't intend to choose Li Mo's style and directly shut out all officials, but selectively collects some available people.

Although his relationship with Xu Jie is in the honeymoon period, "the heart of harming people is indispensable, and the heart of preventing people is indispensable", he is also making some preparations, and at the same time laying the groundwork for the future to walk in front of Yuan Wei logically.

It's just that this promising Shuntian Mansion Yin is not among the list, but this person is a little unreasonable, and he doesn't understand that the status of the two is as bad as a cloud, which makes him feel bored.

"Let him in!"

Guo Pu couldn't guess the other party's intentions, but he didn't want to tear his face directly with Wu Shan's side at present, and he also wanted to maintain the superficial harmony between the two sides, so he immediately ordered lightly.

The butler answered, and immediately went out and led the man to the study.

Guo Pu did not meet Lin Haoran in the study in the inner room, but chose to sit in the side hall of the outer room, sitting majestically on the master's seat, drinking tea slowly.

"Xia Guan has seen Guo Shangshu!"

Lin Haoran followed the housekeeper to the side hall and kept the etiquette to give a salute.

"Sit down!"

Guo Pu gently put the teacup on the table, raised his finger to the seat next to him, and asked straight to the point: "Lin Fuyin is anxious to see this official, I don't know what's going on?" ”

Lin Haoran sat down on the chair, faintly feeling that Guo Pu was showing a sense of indifference. He didn't speak, but glanced at the housekeeper and handed the piece of paper to Steward Guo.

What Steward Guo does is this kind of work of waiting for people, just a look, even if he understands Lin Haoran's opinion. stepped forward to take the piece of paper, and then respectfully handed it to Guo Pu.

Guo Pu took the piece of paper for some reason, but he glanced up at Lin Haoran. I saw Lin Haoran taking the tea from the maid, but he was slowly splashing the tea with the tea lid there, and the whole person looked very calm.

Guo Pu didn't know what medicine Lin Haoran was selling in the gourd, and he didn't plan to speculate, so he opened the note, but saw that it was resolutely written: qualitative impatience, not quiet in case of trouble.

Lin Haoran stopped pouring tea, without the slightest expression on his face, and his eyes fell on Guo Pu's body.

Guo Pu's pupils contracted slightly, but in an instant, he recovered as before. When he saw these eight words, although he didn't know which link went wrong, his evaluation of Zhou Youqing had already been leaked.

Now that Lin Haoran has come to the door, it is undoubtedly to "rejuvenate the teacher and ask for guilt". But I have to admit that this kid is very shrewd, he actually found this thing, and he knew his choice in advance.

Guo Pu's gaze moved away from the paper, although the matter had been leaked in advance, but the officialdom for many years had already let Mount Tai collapse without changing his color, he raised his eyes and looked at Lin Haoran and asked lightly: "Lin Fuyin, what do you mean by showing this thing to this official?" ”

This is a very clever statement. Although the matter has been revealed, he still seized the initiative and tested Lin Haoran's reaction by questioning, so as to make the best response.

Lin Haoran has been paying attention to Guo Pu's reaction, although he was not able to catch Guo Pu off guard, but Guo Pu's reaction has proved that the matter is not false, and this person has a plan from the beginning.

Faced with Guo Pu's inquiry, how could he not know the other party's Xiao Jiujiu, took a sip of tea, but asked rhetorically in a bid for the initiative: "Guo Shangshu, I don't know if you still have an impression of this evaluation?" ”

Guo Pu knew that although this kid was young, he had more political wisdom than Wu Shan, so he picked up the tea cup from the table, held the shelf of the official book and asked, "What if there is?" What if not? ”

As soon as these words came out, the butler standing next to him secretly swallowed and spit, and he already smelled a smell of gunpowder.

Lin Haoran looked at the other party and did not hesitate to tear his face on the spot, he suppressed the anger in his heart, looked up at Guo Pu calmly and said word by word: "Guo Shangshu, if there is, then you seem to owe us an explanation!" ”

From the beginning of Jingcha, they chose to put their chips on Guo Pu and seek the help of this official Shangshu. In this regard, Guo Pu also gave a positive answer, promising to help them when the time comes.

But he never thought that this dignified official not only did not help them tide over the difficulties, but also wanted to join Xu Jie to put them to death, and he was ruthless to them behind his back.

Xu Jie is hateful, but Guo Pu is even more so.