The voices of the two sounded at the same time, before and after.

It looks harmonious.

Ren Zhen called himself a grass man to show his respect for His Majesty the Emperor.

The empress took the initiative to give a seat and treated the Confucian gentleman with courtesy.

Up and down the mountain, respect each other.

The inner supervisor received the order and quickly moved a chair. The chair was placed on the side, and after Ren Zhen sat down, he was facing the huge pillar of the main hall facing the west, and out of courtesy, he couldn't squint, so he had to stare at it in a daze.

He sat upright, with his hands on his laps, seemingly very restrained, but in fact he was calm and relaxed. Since he was called to the palace, he had no reason to be in a hurry to speak, not to mention that the negotiation of this kind of thing has always been the upper hand of the reserved, and he can't be in a hurry.

The empress lowered her head and read Langya Pavilion's secret report about tonight's auction, her eyes were steady and focused, and she couldn't see any emotion, let alone tiredness.

The two of them were silent for a long night, and the study fell silent.

At one point, the empress put together several pages of papyrus, apparently having finally finished reading them, but she still held them in her hand and did not put them on the desk.

She raised her head, looked at Ren Zhen's side face, and smiled: "Mr. Xiao seems to be a little nervous? ”

Ren Zhen bowed his head and replied, "Out of awe." ”

There are only four words, and there is no more perfect answer.

The great cultivators of the Dao Sect on the mountain are strong, and after coming down the mountain, they are often arrogant and arrogant, and they despise the worldly dynasty, which then produces dismal friction. In the final analysis, it is that they do not know how to be in awe and are unwilling to submit to the laws of the imperial court.

In front of the empress who had never practiced, the little gentleman who had just come down the mountain was in awe and took the initiative to lower his posture, which was not only elegant and polite, but also a very friendly signal.

The Empress looked at him seriously, surprised by his perfect answer, and the smile on her face grew.

"I respect my master as a master and as a father, since you are his closed disciple, I will definitely take care of it, how can I embarrass you? Let's just have a casual chat, you don't have to be nervous. ”

In front of those important ministers, she always spoke cordially and gently, rarely showing a stern demeanor, let alone putting on imperial coercion. When I met Ren Zhen for the first time tonight, she was so easy-going, as if she was quite happy with his arrival.

Ren Zhen nodded yes, turned his face sideways, and looked at the empress's face seriously for the first time.

The complexion is dark, the cheeks are slightly fat, the eyebrow line is extremely light, and there is no outstanding place in the appearance, and there is no posture at all.

The plain middle-aged woman in front of her is the empress of the ages who has caused countless heroes to bend their waists and even be wiped out?

Ren Zhen had already known about this, but after witnessing it with his own eyes, he was still stunned. Although people can't be good-looking, those heroes and heroes all have charm in the depths of their souls, and there is no one like the empress in front of him, who is so mediocre that he really doesn't have any style.

"Even if she's good at using men and proficient in all kinds of selling germination, this foundation is not bad, right? I really don't understand Xiao Yeyu, why was she fascinated? ”

As a beauty controller, Ren Zhen is very puzzled, such an opponent makes him feel bored.

If there was no one beside the empress, she stretched her waist, handed him the straw paper in her hand, and said with a smile: "This is a secret report presented to me by Langya Pavilion, which writes you like a ghost, close to a demon, but not like a person, do you want to take a look?" ”

"......Forehead" Ren Zhen was stunned, unexpectedly surprised by her honesty, and said embarrassedly: "This is a secret of the imperial court, it is not suitable for me to see, so forget it!" ”

The empress sighed, casually threw the straw paper on the table, and then grabbed the dark blue big blue on her shoulder.

"When I read the secret report just now, I was struggling with what kind of official position I should let you hold. After all, your identity is Xuanhe, and you donate so much money, I'm worried that the reward is too low, which will make you mistakenly think that I am too stingy and refuse to reuse you! ”

Unexpectedly, as soon as she came up, she picked out the most sensitive topics and said them very bluntly, making it difficult for people to have room for euphemism.

Fortunately, Ren Zhen knew her style well and was not caught off guard, but immediately showed a worried look.

"Your Majesty, in fact, the great cultivators on the mountain have a relatively light view of the utilitarianism of the officials, and I went down the mountain to Beijing this time, not because of this, but just to solve problems for you and resolve the crisis in front of you. Confucianism and the Tang Dynasty share weal and woe, and I, as a disciple of the Master, really can't bear to watch the fire from across the shore and watch the lives burn! ”

Straight to straight, since the empress wanted to test his intentions, he simply cut to the chase and gave up going around in circles.

The empress was overjoyed and asked casually: "Before you went out of the mountain this time, did the master and Mr. Da tell anything?" If the two saints have any instructions to resolve the immediate crisis, I will do it! ”

Her two sentences seem casual, but in fact they are full of traps.

As soon as she came up, she took the lead in mentioning her official position, but Ren Zhen did not pick up, but turned the topic to the crisis. She is not an idle person, understated, quickly changed the subject, and began to test Ren Zhen's position.

If Ren Zhen replied that he did not consult the two saints before leaving the mountain, this means that all the remarks he made at the auction before were only his personal opinions and had not been approved by the two saints.

Confucianism acquiesced to the pretense of Confucian sword initiation, which was self-defeating.

The result can be imagined, she will definitely not reuse Ren Zhen, at least before she finds out the bottom line of the second saint, she will not immediately send a compromise signal to the outside world, so that the remnants of the military family can see the hope of recovery.

If Ren Zhen's answer was what the master or Mr. Da said, it means that he came on behalf of the will of one of them, and the empress would be able to see clearly which side Ren Zhen was on and what attitude he held in the Confucian internal struggle between the two sages.

In the current situation, on many specific issues, the two factions of Confucianism have been fighting each other. For example, regarding the choice of the commander of the Pingnan army, the court launched a fierce debate, which was imminent, but it could not find a suitable and compromise plan.

As the nominal third person in Confucianism, Ren Zhen was involved at this time, and if he didn't find out his position first, the empress would not dare to really reuse him, so he rashly changed the situation of the game between the two sides.

Therefore, this temptation is crucial.

Ren Zhen quickly realized that this was a big pit, and no matter how he chose, the empress would see his bottom line.

So, he said in a deep voice: "This Tang Dynasty is your own world, how can it be controlled by others?" IMHO, the attitude of the two saints at this time is not important, what matters is your decision. Confucianism pursues loyalty to the monarch and patriotism, and the monarch is before the teacher, since I have entered the office, I should respect your will and let you send it! ”

He bypassed the pit and didn't struggle with choosing one or the other.

In fact, this is his heartfelt remark, and it is also a position that has been foreseen for a long time.

Cai Jiushi's identity has now been leaked, and once the Confucian saint Dong Zhongshu knows, I am afraid that he will go to the capital in person to fight the idea of the Spring and Autumn Festival. Wen Shengyan Yuan heard the wind and moved, and it is likely that he will also come.

If he chooses a position early and takes one side, then the two tigers will come together, and he will inevitably offend the other side. With his current cultivation, it was definitely not a wise move to take the initiative to offend a powerhouse of the Eight Realms.

Therefore, he has to choose neutrality, at least on the bright side to stand with the empress.

Without waiting for the empress to continue asking, he got up and said, "If you have to choose, then let me follow the example of the second senior brother and become a national warrior!" ”

Over the years, Yuan Benxi has been sandwiched between teachers and senior brothers, impartial, and has never been too close to one of them. In his consciousness, loyalty comes first, and state affairs are the most important, so he is willing to hide in the imperial city and give advice to the emperor.

Ren Zhen brought out the name of Mr. Er, just to impress the empress and eliminate her concerns.