In Kyoto in January, the climate is cold. It's only been a few days since the sun passed, and it's snowing again today. The flying snow and catkins outside the house are generally fluttering, the sound of rustling on the eaves is endless, the weather is freezing, and the crowing chickens are too lazy to call, shivering in the chicken coop.

Lu Zuo felt that it was already dawn, so he got up and prepared to freshen up, so he called Lu Renxiang and Yin Ji from the bed. Just as the three of them finished dressing, someone outside the courtyard shouted to open the door.

"Ji'er, you go and open the door, the prince probably sent someone to supervise ......" Lu Zuo didn't say anything, he smiled, and immediately changed his words, "Send someone to serve us." ”

Yin Ji pouted reluctantly, "Here we go again, these officials are really annoying!" ”

Lu Renxiang tied the crown on his head and said with a smile: "Then you go and boil water for us to wash our faces?" ”

"Humph!" Yin Ji grimaced at Lu Renxiang, and disappeared as soon as he slipped through the smoke.

After a while, sure enough, there were four or five people dressed as family members, following behind Yin Ji, and Yin Ji was like a powerful son, swaggering in front of him, leading to Lu Zuo's door.

The eldest stood in front of the door and said, "Mr. Lu, we are sent by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to serve you, if you have any orders, please speak!" ”

Lu Zuo rarely summons people, and it is indeed a little difficult to summon these family members for a while, so he glanced at Yin Ji and asked him to arrange it.

Yin Ji got a look, as if he had received an order, he stretched out his feet and stood on the threshold, crossed his waist with his hands, and commanded angrily: "You two go to the firewood room to boil water, you two go to the kitchen to make breakfast, and you go out to buy vegetables, you will prepare today's meal!" ”

After Yin Ji finished instructing, when Lu Renxiang was touching the silver in his arms, the old man knew what he meant when he saw Lu Renxiang's movements, so he replied: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has already said before we leave, Mr. Lu's expenses, all the expenses will be used to let the little ones go back to the prince's mansion to report the accounts when the time comes." So there is no need for Mr. Lu to spend money. ”

Lu Zuo thanked him, and after that, several family members went separately to do things.

After Lu Zuo and the three of them had breakfast, they put on their coats, took two umbrellas, and went to the mansion in the distant mountains of Bo'an, Pingyuan.

The side door of the Earl's Court hugs the building like the front door, tall and mighty, several doors are crooked on the stools at the door to guard, and from time to time someone inside comes out to remind the guards of the spirit of the door, and the door is full of spirit to stand at the door.

Lu Zuo and the three of them respectfully handed the name thorn to Menzi and asked to see the earl, but Menzi was reasonable, and when he heard that he asked to see him, he went to tell him. After a while, the man ran out of breath, saying that Uncle Pingyuan had just eaten and wanted to rest, so he asked the three of them to wait in the hall for a while.

Lu Zuo and the three of them entered the mansion easily, and on the way to the mansion, they observed the Earl's Mansion a little, and found that the rockery separated by the door was more magnificent, and the other arrangements were quite simple. Bypassing a few verandahs of hand-copying, we arrived in the hall.

When Lu Zuo entered the hall to see, there were several paintings of the Shangshan Tiger on the wall, and there was a nearly four-foot-long dragon bird knife on the Nanmu table in front of the middle hall, which was shining with gold and the word "imperial gift" engraved on it. It seems that the An family's loyalty to the emperor can be seen, no wonder among the many heroes who have made meritorious contributions, only An Yuanshan and Xun Yu can still be favored until now.

After waiting for a while, Pingyuan Bo'an Yuanshan really came out of the back hall and said sorry repeatedly, and Lu Zuo and the three of them hurriedly stood up and saluted in return.

"Mr. Lu is here today, I don't know what you are doing?" After An Yuanshan asked everyone to sit down, he asked straight to the point.

Lu Zuo smiled slightly, "The three of us are here today to bother because we want to visit the lord." ”

"Oh?" An Yuanshan disagreed, "It's that simple? ”

"There's another thing I came to ask the lord for." Lu Zuo arched his hand.

"Don't dare, don't dare!" An Yuanshan returned the salute, "Although Mr. Lu said it bluntly, the old man must know everything." ”

After Lu Zuo's greetings, he said: "Sir, the younger generation is straight to the point, do you think the character of the current King of Wei, King Ning and the crown prince, which of these three is more like today's saint?" ”

An Yuanshan hesitated for a moment, not knowing how to answer, knowing that Lu Zuo had the intention to test himself, but he didn't know if he was sent by the prince to test himself, "The old man doesn't understand what Mr. Lu is talking about!" ”

"The lord doesn't have to be careful, the juniors just ask, and they don't mean anything else!"

An Yuanshan smiled awkwardly and asked rhetorically, "Then Mr. Lu, which one do you think is more like the character of today's saint?" ”

"King Ning and the crown prince!"

Lu Zuo's answer without thinking made An Yuanshan really startled, such a sharp question, Lu Zuo dared to answer so boldly.

An Yuanshan looked suspicious, "Why did Mr. Lu say that?" King Wei is now entrusted with important responsibilities by the emperor, and it can also be said that he is outstanding. ”

Lu Zuo asked rhetorically without thinking, "Then why doesn't the lord consider King Wei?" ”

An Yuanshan was immediately frightened by Lu Zuo's words, and was shocked and suspicious in his heart, Lu Zuo was the prince's guest, how could he ask like this, and looked at the hall Fortunately, there was no one else except Lu Renxiang and Yin Ji.

"The old man doesn't understand what Mr. Lu is talking about?"

Lu Zuo said categorically: "You don't have to hide it, I'm here to help you." ”

An Yuanshan looked at Lu Zuo's resolute eyes, and was speechless for a while, and he didn't know what to say, "Shouldn't Mr. Lu help the prince well?" These things don't seem to have anything to do with me, do they? ”

"Let's ask which one is more favored by the emperor, the lord or the prince of the country."

Lu Zuo blurted out a series of questions without hesitation, each of which seemed to be prepared for a long time, and An Yuanshan was in a fog and frightened by these questions.

An Yuanshan became more and more embarrassed, so anxious that beads of sweat rolled, he couldn't help but widen his sleeves, and wiped the beads of sweat on his forehead with the back of his hand, "The saint is wise and martial, and he will never favor anyone, of course the rain and dew are wet!" ”

"But the prince has now begun to rely on the father and son of Xun Yu and Xun Mou!"

Lu Zuo showed a weird smile when he said, which made An Yuanshan shudder, Xun Yu's words of taking refuge with the prince made Lu Zuo say it, it shouldn't be fake, and suddenly An Yuanshan didn't know how to answer.

Lu Zuo continued: "Duke Wei Guo and Uncle Yuan both had immortal merits back then, because the Holy Lord is still healthy now, so the two of them can be blessed to this day. Although you and Wei Guogong can't say that you live or die, but now Wei Guogong is already the prince's person, and after a hundred years, if the prince can successfully ascend to the throne, I am afraid that you will ......."

An Yuanshan was already paralyzed by hearing at this moment, and his thoughts stopped, and when he saw that Lu Zuo looked at him and stopped talking, he said, "But doesn't the prince want to use you to marry my family?" ”

"Sir, do you think the prince still needs an unknown scholar like me now? Now that there is a well-known Wei Guogong, will he risk recruiting another person that Wei Guogong does not like? If you don't fight for power, someone will fight you with power. Lu Zuo still said without hesitation.

"So what do we do now?" An Yuanshan asked without thinking.