Shousuke walked away peacefully, as if he was asleep, and he still had a relieved smile on his face, as if he had let go of a thousand pounds of burden.

For a long time, he hoped that he would return to the mountains and forests, or pick chrysanthemums under the east fence, or fish by the green lake. It's a pity that this wish has never been realized, but today he can finally sleep "well". If there really is a god in the world, this is also a kind of grace to him.

Some people have known each other for decades, but they are still strangers; Some people have only known each other for a few days, but they are already close friends. Qian Jin and Shoufu belong to the latter. Although the old man went, Qian Jin did not have a single tear, but was a little relieved, and repeatedly said in his heart: Go with peace of mind, there is a tall man on top of the sky falling.

Xu Baolu was also very emotional at this time. Over the years, he has had ups and downs in officialdom, and every time he is frustrated, there is always a pair of hands to rescue him from the mud; When it comes to things that are difficult to decide, Shousuke can always avoid the important and show him a clear way. Last night, the Queen Mother actually passed the position of the next first assistant to him, presumably the first assistant's great trust before his death. It can be said that without Shousuke, there would be no him today.

For the aftermath, the first assistant left a testament, and only mourning was allowed, but he could not do it in a big way. He has been in charge of the treasury for decades, racking his brains every day for the expenses of Chen's treasury, and he is not willing to waste the treasury money when he leaves.

As a veteran of officialdom, Xu Baolu's excellent ability to deal with things is reflected at this moment.

Shousuke's family was not in the capital, so he took the position of funeral manager. After scrubbing the body of Shoufu and changing into a shroud, he immediately summoned more than 50 people from the Li Mansion to one place, and there were special personnel for many affairs such as reporting funerals, welcoming and sending guests, serving tea and water, adding incense and oil, hanging curtains and keeping spirits.

Everyone was afraid of Xu Baolu's identity as the new first assistant, and they didn't dare to make a mistake, so they went to various places after receiving the affairs.

Qian Jin pondered that there was not enough manpower in Li's mansion, so he asked Steward Li to take his thousand-household waist card to Huajianfang to find Lao Fan, and urgently dispatched more than 30 people to help. Halfway through, he learned from Steward Li that Shoufu had no savings, so he took a thousand taels of silver from Bao'er as a backup.

Everything is ready.

In the early morning of the second day, Shousuke's coffin had stopped in the front hall of the Li Mansion, and many white lanterns and soul-attracting flags were hung all over the hall. Xu Baolu and Qian Jin put on vegetarian clothes all over their bodies, stood in front of the spirit and waited for the mourners to come to the door.

As the saying goes, people die and settle their accounts. Even if Shousuke had a grudge with someone in the court, it was for official business. Now that people have gone to immortals, if they still remember the friendship of being an official in the same dynasty and come to condole, it will be equivalent to writing off the past, so that Shoufu can go with peace of mind.

However, the purge of the capital has just ended, and there are certainly not a few officials who have a grudge against Shoufu. Xu Baolu couldn't tell how many people would come to the door.

Surprisingly, the first to come to the door was the Queen Mother and Her Majesty, and both of them wore plain clothes.

Xu Baolu and Qian Jin hurriedly welcomed the two of them to the spirit, and at the same time took a reassuring pill in their hearts. The Queen Mother personally came to mourn, which is equivalent to giving the Manchu Dynasty civil and military an attitude: whether you come or not is your business, as long as you are not afraid of settling accounts after the autumn.

After the queen mother finished the incense, she sat on a soft chair prepared by Xu Baolu, staring at the direction of the front door with a frosty face. The emperor also sat on one side, looking a little unkind.

The news that the Empress Dowager and the Emperor had gone to the Li Mansion spread far and wide, and a quarter of an hour later, the front of the Li Mansion began to be lively, and there were constantly cars and horses parked.

The first to come to pay their respects was the plum festival wine. After the old sacrificial wine met the queen mother and the emperor, he immediately threw himself down in front of Shoufu's spirit, burst into tears, and told Shoufu's life and exploits one by one. is worthy of being a master of science in the Central Plains, and what he cried out turned out to be an extremely well-written sacrificial text, so emotional that he even touched the ground with his head.

Xu Baolu knelt in front of the first auxiliary spirit to return the salute, and saw that the plum sacrifice wine was sad, and did not say whether he was true or false, he hurriedly got up and helped him up, and said at the same time: "Please take care of your body when the plum sacrifice wine." ”

Plum sacrificial wine wiped tears with his sleeve, staggered up from the ground, and stood to one side with his hands down.

Immediately afterwards, Guo Daxue of the Hanlin Academy, Cao Shangshu of the Ministry of Engineering, Ding Shangshu of the Military Department, Shi Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites, Fan Yushi of the Inspectorate and other senior members came to the door one by one, as if they had made an appointment.

Fan Yushi looked at the portrait of Shoufu, wept silently, and repeated a few words in his mouth: "Sad Shoufu, the country has lost its pillars; Mourning in the world, I lost my best friend...... "The depth of his feelings and pain are so deep that even the Queen Mother and Her Majesty are moved.

After the officials of various departments came to the door to offer condolences, other Beijing officials naturally followed suit. The Li Mansion was overcrowded for a while. Xu Baolu was worried about the safety of the Queen Mother and His Majesty, so he knelt down and asked the two to go back to the palace first, so as not to have an assassin raid. After the Queen Mother returned to the palace, Xu Baolu instructed the servants to serve tea, wine and rice.

Seven days later, Shoufu's coffin was moved to Baoguo Temple, and after stopping for 7749 days, he could return to Suzhou.

…………

The first seven of Shoufu had not yet arrived, and more than twenty miles outside the Bauhinia Pass, a group of men and horses were galloping on the grass, led by a young man in a brocade robe, with fair skin and a pair of triangular eyes.

This person is Chen Xiong, who had a lawsuit with Qian Jin. Ever since he had been beaten in the mouth, he had threatened revenge. When the Yangmei Poetry Club was held, he also had a photo with Qian Jin. Although he was respectful on his face that time, he was actually eager to kill the money as soon as possible. However, Princess Jing strictly ordered not to cause more trouble, so he endured this breath.

Before the purge of the capital, he went out of the city according to Princess Jing's instructions to arrange the reception, and after Princess Jing and her party safely evacuated to Shandong, he led more than 20 people to Guanwai.

The wind outside the gate was cold, but it couldn't chill his mood at the moment. He looked at the grassland in the distance and muttered, "Qian Jin, one day, I will cut off your head with my own hands and make a wine jug." No, it should be made into a night pot. In this way, I can solve the hatred in my heart. ”

Half an hour later, a group of men and horses appeared on a high slope in the north, and on closer inspection, it turned out to be the cavalry of the Mongol Tartars.

When Chen Xiong saw this group of people, a smile appeared on his face, and he raised his hand to the people behind him, and the group quickly galloped towards the high slope. When he went up the high slope, a black-faced bearded man on the opposite side walked out on a red horse with heavy armor, and he clenched his fists and said, "I am Agula, the prince of Warat, and I have been waiting for Mr. here for a long time." ”

Chen Xiong held the horse up, and also hugged a fist and said: "Zhejiang Chen Xiong, this time I am here to visit His Excellency the prince on the order of Princess Jing. With that, he glanced behind Agoura, and saw that the mountains were full of cavalry, numbering about thirty or forty thousand, and said with a smile: "Your Excellency the prince is preparing to make a surprise attack on Kyoto?" ”

"That's exactly what I mean." Agula laughed and said, "Just wait for Mr. to bring the information of the capital, and my 50,000 grassland powerhouses will be ready to dispatch." ”

Chen Xiong smiled, shook his head and said, "Your Excellency the prince doesn't think that a Chen country is a big one, how can it be that tens of thousands of soldiers and horses like you can take it?" ”

Agoura heard Chen Xiong's mockery, and his face was a little displeased. Several generals next to him were ready to rush out and kill Chen Xiong's majesty.

Agula hurriedly took the reins to stop his subordinates, and said in a cold voice: "I have heard that the king of Ming has great ambitions, and he has been in obscurity for so many years, and he only needs to wave his troops north to take the capital in one fell swoop." Why did you go all the way to the grassland to meet Prince Ben? ”

The prince was wrong. King Ming didn't move, not because he didn't want to move, but because he couldn't move for the time being. On the way here, I heard that Shoufu had returned to the west, but the three major battalions in the capital were also missing. If it is not bad, the capital has already opened its net, just waiting for the prince to take the bait. Therefore, the contemptible man has come to meet the prince this time to prevent you from sending troops. ”

"Li Shoufu has returned to the West?"

"Exactly. When this old man was dying, he actually came to recruit a big purge, and Princess Jing lost a lot of manpower. ”

Agoura glanced at Chen Xiong with disdain and said, "I heard that Li Shoufu is a capable minister who governs the country, how can you, a gentleman, be so disrespectful to a generation of great sages?" ”

Chen Xiong smiled and said, "What to do, it's not the prince's turn to advise." Don't forget, if Li Shoufu is here, you Agula will always be able to drink the northwest wind on the grassland. ”

Agoura sneered, noncommittal, and said: "Since Chen Guo has laid an ambush, then I, Agoura, will not suffer this immediate loss." Farewell. With that, as soon as he raised his hand, the cavalry behind him began to slowly retreat.

Chen Xiong did not stop him, and said this sadly: "If the prince wants to succeed, he will wait for the good news of King Ming. ”

Agoura laughed and said, "Then I'll wait for the good news from the gentleman." So saying, he turned his horse's head and pursued his dear with him.