A few days had passed since Qi Tai met with Gao Xianning and talked about the fact that Concubine Xian's brother Yao Fang was going to Tsushima Island, Japan.

Qi Tai went home early today, he looked excited, and he walked very fast. So much so that when his young wife saw him, she smiled and asked what good things had happened today.

Qi Tai brought back a painting, a fake of the late crossing of Snow Creek; I searched for a few days in a pawn shop, a calligraphy and painting shop, and an antique shop, and I only found something today. He was inexplicably a little excited to get this thing suddenly, even if it was just a fake.

By the time Mrs. Qi Yang Yunniang came in with tea and water, Qi Tai had already sat on a chair and looked at the painting for a while. Yang Yunniang gently put the teacup on the case, and didn't dare to disturb him.

Qi Tai suddenly asked, "Yunnan ripe tea?" ”

Yun Niang said: "The husband's nose is really spiritual. ”

"New tea?" Qi Tai turned his head and asked again.

Yun Niang nodded and said, "My husband doesn't like the old tea that has been stored, so I will ask someone to buy new tea." But I've heard people say that aged tea is much more expensive. ”

Qi Tai said: "I'm not from a rich family, and I'm not used to drinking that expensive thing." Although the aged tea is mellow, the taste and aroma are too light. ”

Yun Niang smiled reluctantly: "I don't understand it even more." ”

Qi Tai was very good to the young lady, but he usually spoke like this, and he felt that Yun Niang might not be very interested. But Zitai couldn't talk in a way she was interested in.

He couldn't help but sigh slightly.

Yun Niang was also very attentive, as if she wanted Qi Tai to be more satisfied with her, so she also stood next to her, taking a closer look at the snow stream late crossing.

"It's an old painting, it's ...... Is it worth it? Yun Niang asked carefully.

"A fake, not very valuable." Qi Tai said, "But the imitation is very good, you look at this paper, specially made old and yellowed, if it is not a person who is proficient in antique calligraphy and painting, it can almost be fake." So it doesn't make any difference to me, whether it's true or not. ”

Yun Niang smiled bitterly: "Husband's words are too profound. Obviously, I can understand every sentence, but I don't know the deep meaning. ”

Qi Tai stood up, paced a few steps with his hands behind his back, and suddenly asked, "Madame has seen my student Gao Xianning?" ”

Yun Niang said: "I've seen it, my husband invited him to come to the house for dinner several times. ”

"What do you think of him?" Qi Tai asked again.

Yun Niang's expression immediately became more vibrant, and she said without thinking: "If I hadn't known that Gao Xianning had also become a big official, I really wouldn't have seen it, he was very interesting, he could talk to anyone, and he didn't have a fight at all." The last time he told a joke at the dinner table, even the maid bent down with laughter...... "She seemed to realize that something was wrong, and immediately stopped."

Qi Tai said: "Madame is not wrong. ”

Yun Niang said softly: "Xianning is still young, he is indeed not very calm, and he still needs to learn more from his teacher." ”

Qi Tai shook his head and said, "Gao Xianning's mind is not below me. You were right to say what he said first. I have known him for many years, how can I not know? That's because of temperament, and it has a lot to do with experience, but it has nothing to do with age. Before Gao Xianning came out, he liked the wind and snow, traveled in the mountains and rivers, and made friends. In the past, I used to study hard and go out behind closed doors, and most of the time it was a bit dull. ”

When he said this, he pondered for a while, and then said, "The place where I first met you was when I went to Beijing to take the exam. I remember that I lived there for a long time at that time, but there was hardly any superfluous conversation with the shopkeepers and peddlers around me, not because Qinggao looked down on those people, but because I really had nothing to say. It was the same when I was back home. ”

Talking about these things, Yun Niang seemed to be able to understand Qi Tai, and she said with good words: "My husband has ambitions, and I spend all my time reading poetry and books, and now I have such a great creation." ”

Qi Tai said: "That's the same, taking the Jinshi exam and then entering the Shi, this is the safest way to rely on yourself." Like Gao Xianning, because he became famous for an article, he rejected Emperor Taizong's solicitation and attracted the attention of the world, and it was indeed just luck to go to the side door to enter the office. However, Gao Xianning doesn't seem to have much interest in officialdom, his family is wealthy and has no intention of chasing fame and fortune, so he is not a drill camp. Some officials in the DPRK and China did not like him, probably because they felt that he had taken a shortcut. ”

He paused and muttered: "If you want to talk about high heart, Gao Xianning is taller than me." But ordinary people can't understand it. ”

Yun Niang smiled bitterly: "If my husband hadn't broken it, I wouldn't have known that he was such a person." ”

Qi Tai said: "Such a high-minded person, a person who is hated and excluded by his colleagues, has only been in the office for a few years, and he is still like a fish in water in the officialdom; I think of Yang Shiqi, Yang Shiqi and Gao Xianning have different personalities, but there are certain similarities. At the beginning, Emperor Taizong summoned Gao Xianning to enter the court, if Xianning would have entered the government at that time, I believe that his official would still be good.

And I'm different from them. On that day, the Holy Lord was right when he said that to be an official was to 'join the WTO'; I was able to become an official only because of my talent and my background as a scholar, and if it were not for this, I might not be suitable to be an official at all." ”

Yun Niang said: "Kefujun is still a big official like Shangshu." ”

Qi Tai shook his head and said: "In the past two years, I have been looking back on the past, and I think of the Jianwen period, when I obviously worked hard and planned for the imperial court, but my ideas were never adopted; At that time, there were different forces in the court, and I also ran into a wall on all sides. So I suddenly thought of one thing, what would happen if Gao Xianning was in my position during the Jianwen period? ”

Yun Niang also asked a little curiously: "What was Gao Xianning doing at that time?" ”

Qi Tai said: "He is a student of Guozijian, he studied in Beijing for a while, and wandered around his hometown county school for a while. Except for writing an article in Jinan City by chance, he did almost nothing. Of course, I didn't do anything, I just said something useless in the temple. When I think about everything, I just feel that my life has been wasted, it's boring, and it hurts my family. ”

Yun Niang said kindly: "My husband is in the prime of life, and he is already the highest-ranking minister in the Ming court, so there is no need to think like this." ”

"I can sit where I am now, because of one person." Qi Tai's expression changed and he sighed.

Yun Niang said: "Saint? ”

Qi Tai nodded and said: "Emperor Taizu takes a fancy to my talent and learning, and what he values today is my insight and talent. A person like me, if he didn't have the trust and reuse of the saints, he couldn't have accomplished any great things. This is the difference between me and Gao Xianning. ”

Yun Niang said softly: "I roughly understand what my husband means." ”

Qi Tai exhaled and pointed to the fake painting on the wall, "A few days ago, the Holy Lord summoned me alone, and the Holy Lord has been admiring this painting repeatedly. ”

Yun Niang answered, and the couple stared at the painting together and fell silent.

After a while, Qi Tai muttered, "The Holy Lord wants to change the law, but I can't fully understand how to change it. However, most of the courtiers have the same idea as me, and there is no need to change the law in the current situation of our Ming Dynasty. I don't want to go against the Holy One, I just want to do my duty. ”

He said in a calm but firm tone: "But if the Holy One is right, I should be the precursor of the king." ”

…… A few days after Yao Fang left Beijing, Zhu Gaoxu learned about it. For the emperor, it was originally a trivial matter, and Yao Fang had no reason to play the chapter; Zhu Gaoxu only found out now, which is normal, and he didn't care too much.

There was still a while before Youshi, Zhu Gaoxu went to Dongnuan Pavilion and asked the eunuchs around him to go out.

He walked over to the bookshelf by the wall, took out a wooden box from under a few books, and then took a key from his bosom and unlocked the lock. He pulled out a booklet and a few maps.

After doing this, Zhu Gaoxu suddenly felt that he was living like a rich man, quietly taking out the hidden treasures to observe, for fear that someone would see and steal them.

He sat down behind the royal case, opened the booklet, and began to read the scribbled handwriting on it.

Zhu Gaoxu writes well, but he is not used to writing things down, and most of them are thinking in his mind. However, his attempts to transform the internal and external ideas are too complex and complicated, so he can only keep recording some ideas in order to gradually form a more complete set of plans.

Each thing, who will benefit and who will lose; There are different levels of resistance, whether it can be suppressed, or whether there is a way to compensate and appease it. So Zhu Gaoxu is also very big-headed.

When it came to some important people such as vassal kings, he used pinyin initials instead, so as not to cause unnecessary political panic if this thing was leaked. Although this possibility is not large, there are people on duty day and night in all parts of the Qianqing Palace, and the eunuchs and palace maids on duty will not act alone.

Today, I don't know what's going on, Zhu Gaoxu feels like he can't concentrate. After a long time, I couldn't write more in the booklet, and the page I turned didn't turn for a while. He stared at what was on paper and couldn't allow himself to think deeper.

Zhu Gaoxu put down the brush and rubbed his hands back and forth on his forehead for a while. He then stood up and walked to the window with the South Asian-style straw curtains, looking out at the courtyard.

Suddenly, a small doubt from before came back to my mind. Why did Ma Enhui suddenly become apathetic?

When he thought of this, he began to use the thinking methods he had recently adopted to figure out the reasons, to come up with various factors, and to deduce them. But it still doesn't feel reasonable.

However, Zhu Gaoxu found that he was able to concentrate on thinking again. Compared with abstract personnel identities, he is really more willing to ponder the people he is familiar with.

"Knock, knock, knock......" There was a drum sound from the Hongwumen Tower in the distance, and the time had arrived. Zhu Gaoxu let out a breath and turned around to hide his "treasure" on the bookshelf again.

He walked to the ramp outside, and the eunuch Cao Fu stepped forward and bowed down and said, "Emperor, Concubine Li Zhuang should sleep tonight, and the slave maid will ask someone to send Concubine Zhuang to Qianqing Palace for a while?" ”

Zhu Gaoxu nodded.

He looked down at the stone tiles underground, and saw that the tiles were worn out and smooth. Generations of emperors and ministers, I don't know how many times they have walked here.