Xu Sheng rushed back to the palace non-stop after chatting with Li Xiao, and when he passed the Anfu Gate in the west, he consciously got out of the carriage and entered the palace with a few words chatting with the guards in gold armor, he needed to rush to the imperial study to report before His Majesty went to bed, but looking at the time, it seemed to be a little late.

The cunning moonlight spread down, shining straight on this magnificent building, reflecting the rows of shadows on the ground, which was very lonely. In the distance, the sound of frogs kept moving, but there was no movement here. The huge palace was sleeping in the moonlight, surrounded only by a few solemn footsteps accompanied by a hundred breaths of light breathing.

The Imperial Study is located in the east of the Imperial City, and was originally called the Ganlu Palace, but now His Majesty the Emperor likes to call it the Imperial Study, so it was changed to this.

At the beginning, the imperial study, or Ganlu Hall, was not as large as it is today, but after His Majesty ascended the throne, it was formed after some expansion and merging several empty courtyards on the side. This is the place where His Majesty the Emperor often stays, and it is also the place where the whole Hao country has the largest collection of books.

Walked along a straight royal road on the white steps of the imperial study, and walked in smoothly after the report of the little eunuch at the door. The heavy door slowly opened, and what greeted me was more than a dozen rows of non-ceilinged mahogany bookshelves, on which a bright palace lamp was hanging, and the bright lights shone on the entire palace, reflecting the dustless floor on the ground, which was very solemn.

After walking through a few rows of bookshelves, I saw a vertical curtain, looking inward through the thin curtain, and the person sitting with a book in it was the person who was at the pinnacle of Haoguo's power - His Majesty the Emperor today.

Xu Sheng stepped forward, knelt on the ground, lowered his head and said in a trembling voice: "Minister, Xu Sheng, knock to see Your Majesty." ”

The figure behind the curtain did not speak, but looked at the faded book in his hand. The body, which is neither fat nor thin, moves from side to side, and puts a few grapes in his mouth with one hand.

The entire study became very quiet, except for a few intermittent flipping books. Xu Sheng, who was kneeling on the ground, didn't dare to speak, and even the sound of breathing became slight. He didn't know why His Majesty the Emperor in front of him didn't react, it was because he came back late, or maybe he didn't pay attention to any details. But no matter what he said, he didn't dare to speak again, and he didn't care whether His Majesty the emperor heard it or not, waiting for the monarch to finish his work was his duty as a courtier, and he had accompanied the emperors of the two dynasties, if he didn't understand this truth, wouldn't it be in vain to live all these years.

I don't know how long it took, Xu Sheng, who was kneeling, felt that his legs were numb, and his sunken knees were also a little sore at this time, but the emperor in front of him did not move, so he could only pinch his thighs from time to time to relieve them. Father-in-law Xu was very annoyed, he wanted to get up and stumble, his body was no longer the one he had just entered the palace, and he couldn't get up after kneeling for a long time.

The palace maid and eunuch standing next to him looked at Xu Sheng, who had been kneeling at the moment, and on the one hand took pity on the elderly old eunuch, and on the other hand, she prayed that she would not suffer from this.

The evening breeze blew gently, and there was some noise as it passed by the open windows and doors. The moonlight crept in through the crack in the window, shining through the curtain and shining on his face, causing the emperor who turned the book to yawn.

"Wang Cai, what time is it?" His Majesty the Emperor, who was in a light shirt, flipped a page and asked casually.

"Your Majesty, it's three o'clock in the morning, it's time to go to bed." The eunuch with his back on his back on the side said in a loud voice, thinking that this person was Wang Cai in the emperor's mouth.

"I'm a little sleepy." The emperor yawned slowly, then stood up, saw Xu Sheng, who was still kneeling, and said, "When did Deputy Chief Xu come, why didn't anyone inform me, let people kneel all the time, what kind of system." ”

Everyone who knew the temper of the emperor in front of them was busy asking for guilt, and for a while, what should be damned and what was guilty was full of them. Xu Sheng laughed at himself and said, "The minister also just arrived, and when he saw that His Majesty was studying, he waited on the side. ”

How could he not see that the majesty in front of him had already found out that he had arrived, and what he said at this time was just "nonsense", but it was not easy to say it himself, His Majesty would let it be nonsense, and what could he do as a courtier.

After listening to Xu Sheng's words, the emperor lay down recliningly, looked at Xu Sheng in an extremely lazy way, and said, "Since you just came, then kneel for a while, anyway, you are used to it." Come, let's talk about what Li Xiao said. ”

"Back to Your Majesty." Xu Sheng raised his leg slightly, and replied with some difficulty: "When the minister handed over the fruits and vegetables ordered by His Majesty to Li Gongzi, he said some words of gratitude to His Majesty, but he muttered 'Sabi' when he gave the silver ticket, and he didn't say anything else. ”

"Sabi?"

"It seems to be this word, and the ministers didn't hear it clearly, it should be, it should be this." Xu Sheng lowered his head and said timidly.

"It's kind of interesting." The emperor pulled a blanket over his body, changed to a comfortable lying position, looked at Xu Sheng and said, "Forget it, you go down, you can't get anything useful after going for so long." Hey, by the way, can Li Xiao receive the two hundred taels of silver tickets happily? ”

"Two hundred taels, not ......" Xu Sheng was about to leave, but when he heard the emperor's words, he subconsciously raised his head, but soon realized it, and hurriedly kowtowed, knocking one after another, the sound of the collision was very crisp, and he wandered in the wide palace: "The ministers deserve ten thousand deaths, I hope Your Majesty will forgive them, and the ministers will deserve ten thousand deaths, and I hope Your Majesty will forgive them." ”

"I just asked you if he was happy to receive it, why did he ask for the crime, and besides, the silver ticket given to him was his, and how to deal with it is his business, you don't have to panic." The emperor smiled, took a sip of hot tea, and said, "Okay, the hour is not early, you should rest early." ”

"Thank you, thank you, Your Majesty." Xu Sheng got up tremblingly, his legs that had been kneeling for a long time were a little weak, but fortunately, the sharp-eyed little eunuch on the side helped him in time, so that he did not lose his honor in front of the palace.

Xu Sheng didn't know how the Majesty in front of him, who had stayed at home, learned about Li Xiao's silver ticket not long ago, and he couldn't guess what the emperor was thinking at the moment, he only knew that he was closed from the ghost gate at this time, and the soaked underwear on his body seemed to be telling something.

The emperor looked at Xu Sheng, who retreated with his back bowed, and couldn't help laughing, he enjoyed this feeling of being on top of the sky, and he didn't know when he became addicted to this feeling, it should be the superiority brought by the imperial power, it should be the strangeness of this world to him, but today, he suddenly felt that this world gave him an extremely cordial sense of familiarity.

When the moon was in the sky, the somewhat excited emperor lost his sleepiness, grabbed a few books and started a busy night. This is a bitter palace maid and eunuch who accompanied the attendant, her sleepy eyes kept blinking, and her small mouth was secretly yawning.

……

Xuanzheng Street in the east city of Haoguo, as a long street with the highest concentration of officials, is also the brightest place except for those entertainment venues that sing every night. But when the sea was over, they all went out and fell asleep. However, there are still a few mansions left, stubbornly lit up.

There is a mansion on Xuanzheng Middle Street, the black wall stands majestically, and two gray-white stone lions sit in the closed gate, sitting silently, staring at the passers-by, looking extremely cold.

It was already late at night, but a dark room in the house was still brightly lit, and from a distance, three figures were walking inside. There wasn't much in the room, just a weapon with a cold glow.

"Xiangye, the subordinates are not doing well, please punish Xiangye." The fat middle-aged man knelt in the middle of the room, and said with a trembling voice. In front of him, there was a man in black inlaid with gold wire, presumably this person was the Xiangye in his mouth, the current right minister of Haoguo, Shi Song.

"Father, Steward Zhou also made a mistake for a while, and it's nothing to talk about it." The young man sitting on Shi Song's left said with a smile. The young man was about twenty-seven or eighteen years old, dressed in Confucian clothes, and his demeanor and conversation were quite scholarly, if it weren't for the blind left eye and a lame leg, he would really have the temperament of those talents.

Steward Zhou lowered his head, his body trembling constantly. For the high-ranking and powerful Shi Xiangye sitting in front, he always felt that there was an indescribable fear when facing Shi Song. Maybe it's because of Shi Song's military background, or maybe it's because of Shi Song's elusive ruthlessness. No matter what, after staying in Shifu for so many years, he couldn't really understand the hearts of the father and son in front of him.

"If it weren't for that kid in Suzhou appearing in Penglai Xianju today, I would have been deceived by the useless thing you brought back for a long time." Shi Song sat on a high chair, wiping a rusty long knife in his hand. However, Shi Song, who has a beer belly, is sitting on such a high chair, no matter how you look at it, it is a bit funny.

Shi Song continued: "Fortunately, the surname Yu didn't succeed, otherwise our efforts over the years would not have been in vain." It was Lu Qinghou who took the person over quietly. ”

"That person Lu Qinghou is only loyal to the one in the palace, and it may be the best result to let him take it," the prince of the Shi family said with a smile: "But what we need to care about now is whether that kid can do good things in the king." ”

"What Shifan said is that it will be the Queen Mother's birthday in a few days, and if he does a good job, we can also have more chips." Shi Song put down the long knife and said expressionlessly: "I won't pursue your affairs, I will give you a few prescriptions for the kid I brought over, so that I don't know when I enter the palace." ”

"Yes, Xiangye."

……

The conversation between the master and servant ended quickly, and after Steward Zhou left, he hurriedly woke up the sleeping Kamata Department, and threw more than a dozen prescriptions in his hand to let him memorize them.

Li Xiao in his sleep didn't know this, he dreamed of the sea of fire again, it was still the same scene, everything around him was burned in the fire, including those who seemed familiar but strange, he subconsciously stretched out his hand to save them, but slowly, for some reason, he was getting farther and farther away from the sea of fire, and in the end, all he saw was a little fire and a meteor that crossed the sky......