"What is this?" The eldest lord looked at the two pieces of drawing paper handed over by Shen Rui and asked curiously.

Shen Rui didn't answer immediately, but just stretched out his finger and pointed to the sign on the person in the circle.

The old man looked at it, and his expression began to become solemn.

When he put down the first one, he glanced at Shen Rui, and then looked at the second one.

When he saw that the circle marked "up" in the second one had become smaller, and the people inside had also become half shorter, the old man couldn't help but widen his eyes and change his complexion.

He got up and looked at Shen Rui with a frown.

Shen Rui didn't think that he could hide from the eldest master with such a straightforward mark, but he still didn't speak.

The old man sighed and said, "Follow me inside to talk......"

The old man's study is divided into inside and outside. The outside room is a bookcase and desk, and the inside is a warm pavilion, there are no open windows, and the surrounding walls are made of felt. The room is warm and soundproofed.

"Okay, how did the second brother think of pondering this?" The eldest lord and the Xu family never regarded Shen Rui as a child, so they asked directly this time.

Shen Rui told Xie Di and Xie Pi's uncle and nephew about the visit, and then said: "Although my father is not a gentleman, in the eyes of the world, the Shen family and Xie Ge Lao are inextricably linked......

The eldest master took the second drawing, was silent for a while, and said in a low voice: "How can the second brother think of the rise and fall."

There is a sentence that the eldest lord did not directly complain about, that is, the emperor is now in his prime. Even if it's a rainy day, it's too early.

Shen Rui thought for a while and said, "I heard that in the early years of Hongzhi, the palace had expelled monks, but there was a resurgence in the past few years......"

Naturally, he can't say that Emperor Zhengde ascended the throne as a young man, so he can only use excuses.

The eldest man's expression was quite complicated: "The second brother knows the slightest thing, he can think of this, how can others not think of it?" It's just that even on that day, the three elders were also ministers of the orphans......"

Shen Rui bowed and said: "Since ancient times, there have been a few good endings for the ministers of Tuogu......"

The eldest master looked at the second drawing and said, "Why does the second brother feel that when the replacement comes, the eunuchs will rise?"

Shen Rui said: "The concubine in my palace is from the people, she has the name of a relative, but she has no right to be a relative, and the nobles of the Wenchen have always been to guard against the eunuchs of the relatives, and they are backed by the factory guards, if they are acquiesced, they have the power to compete with the Wenchen......"

The eldest man frowned and said, "Second brother, you can try again......"

Shen Rui didn't know much about the subsequent history, but he remembered Liu Jin's resignation clearly. It is not surprising that "the cunning rabbit dies, and the lackey cooks", which is a common method of emperors. First, he put out a knife to make a situation, and then handed over the knife to calm the anger of the people.

Shen Rui took a pen and paper and drew a third picture on the kang table.

In the third picture, the circle of "upper" becomes larger, and there is no other circle that can compare with it, and the circle of eunuchs becomes smaller and returns behind the "upper" circle. The three circles representing the three pavilion elders have all shrunk greatly, and the "Liu" circle and "Xie" circle left the Wenchen circle and ran to the edge of the drawing, leaving only "Li" behind.

And the "Zhan" circle, which was originally around the "Shang" Quan, became larger, merged into the Wenchen circle, and confronted the "Li" circle

If you want to say that the first two pictures are the court situation that Shen Rui knows, then the third one is a guess.

Among the three elders, if all of them are expelled, there will be new people left in the imperial court, and the variables are too great, and there is no one to check and balance the old people in the East Palace; If the two are left and united, they will be able to confront the monarchy, which is certainly not what the new emperor wants to see; The biggest possibility left is to drive two and keep one.

Among the three elders, Liu Jian is the oldest and the first assistant. If the new emperor wants to be a puppet, he will be the first to be replaced. Among the remaining Xie Qian and Li Dongyang, according to the rumors heard by Shen Rui, Xie Qian is square and Li Dongyang is warm.

When it really came time for Liu Jin to take power, among Xie Qian and Li Dongyang, only Li Dongyang should be able to take a step back.

In this way, when Liu Jin stepped down, the situation in the court was a situation in which the new emperor was dictatorial and the old and new civil servants were facing each other.

Shen Rui's idea is not imaginative, it is in line with the meaning of "once a son of heaven and a courtier".

Moreover, there is a precedent for him to propose that the new emperor will use eunuchs to confront the old ministers. After the restoration of Yingzong, this method was used when liquidating the old ministers of Jingtai. Let's just say that when Emperor Hongzhi first came to power, he also had the right to "get power".

In the past, he just thought that he was benevolent and peaceful, and he would be deceived by the eunuchs at the beginning of his accession to the throne, but now it seems that it is just an imperial method.

After reading the third drawing, Master Shen put it down and asked, "Second brother can think of this, can he think of a way to protect himself?" ”

Shen Rui pointed to the "Zhan" circle and said, "In a few years, these people will be able to stand in the hall...... The son felt that the Shen family was close to the Xie family, so it was better to choose one of the vassals of the East Palace as an alliance......"

Seeing Shen Rui's confident appearance, the eldest lord couldn't help but smile and said, "Second brother has a candidate in his heart......

"Zuo Chunfang University scholar Yang Tinghe ......," Shen Rui said.

He knew the truth that if he said too much, he would lose, and he didn't want to act too weird, but he was also worried that Master Shen would press the wrong treasure. There are many members of the James Mansion, most of whom are concurrently serving as court officials, but they have the best future, throughout the entire Zhengde Dynasty, and the name of the first assistant has been passed down through the ages, which is Yang Tinghe. As for the Jiajing Dynasty, it is too far away to consider for the time being.

The eldest master naturally didn't know that Shen Rui was "aware of the past and the present", but when he was really smart, he was relieved: "It is not easy for the second brother to think of this from a few elders......

When Shen Rui heard this, he remained silent, but he had some doubts in his heart, and after thinking carefully about the resumes of the three elders, he suddenly realized. These three pavilion elders were all former subordinates of the East Palace during the Chenghua period, served as an official of the James Mansion, and served as a lecturer in the East Palace when Emperor Hongzhi was the crown prince.

The eldest lord and Shen Rui did not mention the second lord who was released, although it was better to ask for others than to ask for himself, and it was better to become a subordinate official of the East Palace, but the second lord was too senior, and when he went to the James Mansion, he was jealous of the high-grade officials, which was not necessarily a good thing, and he was squeezed out by the subordinate officials of the East Palace.

Besides, the second master has been released, and regret is useless.

The eldest lord didn't ask how to form an alliance with Yang Tinghe, but thought of Shen Ying and said: "Next year is the year of the examination, and it is also the time when the Changyuan Hall is disbanded, Brother Ying is old and stea......dy."

Shen Rui asked and was overjoyed: "My son forgot ...... here."

The father and son glanced at each other, and there was a tacit understanding in their hearts.

Shen Rui didn't mean to talk more, and said goodbye to the eldest master, feeling much more at ease.

Compared to the eldest master, his calculations are really nothing. Now the general direction is given to the eldest master, and in terms of the thirty years of experience of the eldest master, the Shen family will not be allowed to take a detour.

However, thinking of the Wang family, Shen Rui's footsteps became heavy again.

He dared to boast in front of the eldest master, but he didn't dare to go to Wang Hua to be presumptuous.

And even if he said the same thing in front of Wang Hua, it may not change Wang Hua's decision.

Since the beginning of winter, the weather has been cold day by day.

Shen Rui didn't worry about Wang Shouren's side, so he often sent his longevity to the past.

Before he rested on the fifteenth day, Wang Shouren had not yet recovered from his illness, and there was news from Shen Quan's side, and Shen Quan's family affairs were officially decided.

Shen Rui heard about it from the Xu family, and it was the sister of Suzhou Hanlin.

When Shen Rui heard this, he was very happy for Shen Quan.

However, when he heard Xu Shi say, "This is a good family business, and Wufang also has an extra arm in the officialdom", Shen Rui was like an initiation, and suddenly thought of Wang Shouren.

Wang Hua has renewed his third wife, the daughter of a petty official, and he can only borrow from the Wang family, and he can't give the Wang family any aid; Wang Shouren is now widowed and has not remarried.

Wang Shouren has a handsome appearance, a dignified appearance, a second-class jinshi, and now he is a six-grade official, and his family is a squire, even if he remarries, he can also be carefully selected.

No matter how good Shen Rui thought, he couldn't tell Wang Shouren, "Teacher, your father is unreliable, find a reliable father-in-law", so he came to Xu's and said to Xu's: "The teacher is sick, and my son is uneasy...... When the teacher was established, he was alone, and he looked pitiful......"

Xu was not surprised when he heard Shen Rui mention Wang Shouren, so he called him to him and said with a smile: "Second brother, how did you think of this?" ”

Shen Rui said: "There is not even a close maid by the teacher's side, except for the rough maid, that is, the little maid, clumsy, where can he serve people......"

Xu Shi smiled even more on his face, and said, "Second brother, don't worry about this...... Your teacher's family affairs are going to be decided."

When Shen Rui heard this, he couldn't help but be surprised: "This ...... This...... I haven't heard the teacher mention it......"

Xu said with a smile: "Marriage matters, the order of parents, the words of the matchmaker, Xu Shilang is in charge......"

Shen Rui was full of curiosity: "I don't know which family my master is from?" ”

Xu sighed lightly and said, "The second brother has also seen it, it's your cousin of the He family......"

Shen Rui was really surprised this time, the "cousin of the He family" in Xu's mouth was He Tai's sister, Shen Luo's ex-fiancée.

After Shen Luo's death, although the second wife went to the He family to make a big fuss, the second master then returned the Geng post of the little lady of the He family, which can be regarded as dissolving the marriage contract between the two families.

Seeing that Shen Rui was stunned, Xu couldn't help frowning: "Second brother thinks Yingzhi shouldn't discuss family affairs anymore?" ”

Shen Rui hurriedly shook his head and said: "Cousin He is at a good age, and it is natural to talk about marriage, and my son was surprised just because Cousin He mentioned that Cousin He was going to marry outside, but I didn't expect to discuss ......marriage in Beijing now."

He Yingzhi is already sixteen years old, and it is not too early to discuss marriage.

Even if the Shen and He families nominally retired from the family affair, they had the affection of childhood sweethearts, and the Bachelor He and Xiao Xu couple also acquiesced to He Yingzhi for Shen Luo's filial piety for a year.

Now that Shen Luo's anniversary has passed, it is not uncommon for the He family to say goodbye.

Thinking that Bachelor He was the elder of Liu Ge, Shen Rui felt bitter in his mouth.

Seeing Shen Rui's expression, Xu said, "Second brother is not optimistic about this family business?" ”

Even the Xu family already knew about it, so the He and Wang families were almost booked, so what did Shen Rui mean by talking about it?

He smiled bitterly and said, "If my cousin becomes a master, what will I call it in the future?" My cousin is afraid that he is going to be proud

Xu said with a smile: "You kid, you are really sincere, naturally you have your own ......."

Although Xu didn't ask, he didn't believe Shen Rui's words, but he was secretly suspicious in his heart. The He family and the Wang family are also considered to be a good match, where is there anything wrong with this family affair that makes Brother Rui uneasy?