The night, the moonlight, the stars are scarce.

Li Mu is still making wine in the martial arts field, and he has an overtime shift tonight. What happened during the day has not yet recovered from his composure, and it will take some time to digest it slowly. He asked the housekeeper to bring a plate of pig's head meat, sat down at the stone table, opened a jar of wine, and drank it alone to the moonlight, listening to the ticking of the distilled liquor.

In his previous life, when he couldn't figure something out, he liked to drink two sips. Because he is an orphan, when he has pain in his heart, he has nowhere to tell it, so he can only hold it in his heart and digest it by himself. Drinking alcohol will not solve the problem, but it can anesthetize the nerves, and when you get drunk, you will have a lot less troubles in your heart.

Suddenly, there was a sound of footsteps at the door of the martial arts arena, Li Mu put down the wine glass and looked over, it was Bai Qiaoqiao, she was carrying a basket on her arm, and she didn't have to guess to know that this girl was delivering food. Li Mu greeted him, took the basket in his hand, and said, "It's so late, what are you doing, I'll go back later." ”

"I was worried that you would be hungry, so I brought some pastries." Bai Qiaoqiao's smile is like a flower, and against the backdrop of the torch, it is even more moving. At this time, she saw the beef on the table and the open wine jar, and frowned: "Are you drinking?" ”

Li Mu smiled bitterly: "Everyone else is married to a wife or a daughter, and I am going to marry an old lady soon...... I can't tell what it's like in my heart, it's really confusing. He sighed and said, "Don't mention this, mother, are you sleeping?" ”

Bai Qiaoqiao took out the pastries from the basket and said, "My mother learned that His Majesty had given her marriage, and you expressed your support, and my heart was full of joy. After talking to me for a while, I just took a break. ”

"Well, it's like a bride to be married."

Bai Qiaoqiao heard Li Mu sigh and said, "Didn't you say that as long as your mother is happy, why do you still sigh." ”

Li Mu took a sip of wine and said, "If you say so, I have to do that...... But after all, I am just one relative, after my mother married Tang Jian, I must not meet as often as now, as a son, I can't serve left and right, although my mother is happy in my heart, but in my heart, I am still a little uncomfortable. What Li Mu didn't say was that he didn't have a mother in his previous life, and in this life, he had a mother by mistake, and he enjoyed his mother's love for a few days, and he saw that he was going to lose it again. The sourness in his heart is mostly due to this.

Li Mu in his previous life was a pessimistic person. Perhaps because of his orphan background, he felt inferiority complex in his heart. He is the kind of person who looks at a thing, thinks of the worst-case scenario, and assumes that it will happen to him without any reason, and does things on the premise that this happens. But at the same time, he is also a person who refuses to admit defeat, even if he doesn't have the slightest chance, he will work hard to the end, so in the twenty-eighth year of his previous life, he lived very tired since he remembered.

After the crossing, he wanted to start without worry, but because of the residual memories in his body, he took over the responsibility of the original Li Mu. Now in this situation, he is not sure whether it is God's love and let him reduce his burden, or the original Li Mu has a spirit in the sky, and wants his mother to find a good family and enjoy half a lifetime of happiness. Li Mu couldn't think clearly, but his feeling was that he seemed to be alone again.

Suddenly there was a warm feeling in his palm, Li Mu looked up and saw that it was Bai Qiaoqiao who put his hand in his palm.

Bai Qiaoqiao smiled softly: "Lang Jun, my mother can't always be by your side in the future, but I won't leave you, I will always accompany you, where you are, I will follow you, you will never be alone." ”

"Qiaoqiao......" Li Mu involuntarily clenched Bai Qiaoqiao's hand, and was so moved that just as he was about to take Bai Qiaoqiao into his arms and take pity on him, suddenly a cough came from the door of the martial arts arena.

Bai Qiaoqiao quickly stood up like a frightened rabbit. Li Mu looked over angrily, and when he saw Li Ji coming out of the shadows, his anger turned into helplessness, he got up and saluted, and said, "Father-in-law, why haven't you rested at this time." ”

"Ah, this, aren't you going to the Ministry of Industry tomorrow to take up your post, and suddenly I remembered something and wanted to tell you, didn't bother you?"

It can't be said that there is, Li Mu squeezed out a smile and said, "Of course not, father-in-law, please take a seat." ”

"Father-in-law, I'll go back to serve my mother-in-law, let's talk." Li Ji coughed just now, and he clearly saw it, how could Bai Qiaoqiao stand it, so he quickly found an excuse and ran away.

Li Mu took another wine glass, poured wine for Li Ji, and said, "Father-in-law, I don't know if you have anything to instruct?" ”

Li Ji looked at Li Mu and said, "Child, you are hiding here to drink, but because of His Majesty's marriage?" ”

Li Mu nodded and said, "Father-in-law, it's indeed because of this. But it's not that I don't support it, and I can't say it clearly, it's just that I have mixed feelings. ”

Li Ji smiled: "I can understand your feelings, but my father-in-law has to mention a few words to you, this matter is really a great good thing for you." ”

"Oh?" Li Mu asked, "Why did my father-in-law say that?" What's so good? ”

Li Ji drank a glass of wine and said, "This is also what I came to you to tell you." You come from a border city, and you don't understand the dangers of the court. I have been telling Your Majesty not to reward you again, do you know why? ”

"Isn't it because I'm still young and ......underqualified?"

"No, no, no, that's just a reason, the real reason is that if Your Majesty really rewards you according to the standards of the county marquis, you will arouse the jealousy of others, you will make enemies, and attract attack, you are from a humble background and have no foundation, how can you resist? Although you are my righteous son, even I am not without enemies in the court, and if you really arouse the anger of the people, I will not be able to protect you. ”

"Huh?" Li Mu was surprised: "Father-in-law, is that so?" ”

Li Ji sighed and said, "Why don't you stop here, the current situation between the DPRK and China is treacherous. There are many factions and they are intricate. Even His Majesty has a headache. I came to you because I was worried that you were going the wrong way, so I came to remind you. ”

"Father-in-law, please speak, the child listens."

"At present, the factions in the court, in a big way, have the confrontation between the nouveau riche and the gate valve, and the confrontation between the Hanmen and the scholars. Let's talk about this upstart and gate valve first, there are five surnames and seven wangs in the world, all of which are families that have been inherited for thousands of years, and their power is very large, and they are intertwined in the local area, and their influence is even greater than that of the imperial court. His Majesty was a problem for his henchmen, but he had to rely on them to maintain his rule over the region, and many important positions in the court were held by members of these families. Not only our Tang Dynasty, but also the monarchs of all dynasties have suffered from this. And the upstarts, who are the so-called heroes of Conglong, some of these people used to be from poor families, and some were nobles, but they were not as good as the five clans and seven surnames, and they rose because of their merits, which naturally threatened the interests of the five surnames and seven hopes, so they were opposed. ”

"Let's talk about this cold family and the scholars. For thousands of years, the scholars held power, and during the two Jin Dynasty, there was even a saying that the monarch and the scholars shared the world. In order to maintain their position, the nobles monopolized knowledge, did everything they could to prevent the poor from having the opportunity to learn, and forced the monarch to select officials from among them. His Majesty opened the imperial examination in order to select the Hanmen to confront the scholars. But the people who pass the exam, seven or eight out of ten are from the scholar clan, which is also a helpless thing, between the poor family and the scholar clan, the difference in heritage is too big, and the status quo will not be changed for a while. ”