In the right minister's mansion, in the backyard Chixin Pavilion, Ye Nanqing, the right minister, and Xia Guoyuan, the prince and the prince, sat facing each other, silent. The breeze was blowing, and the warm air was a little cooler out of thin air.

Ye Nanqing held the purple clay pot and refilled the empty cup in front of Xia Guoyuan with tea. After Xia Guoyuan put down the cup again, he asked respectfully: "After a long time, the disciple is very worried, but he is entangled in mundane affairs, it is difficult to serve the teacher, and he is ashamed in his heart. It is good that the teacher has returned to Beijing, and the disciples should hold the soup in the future to show their filial piety. Are you still healthy in your old age? ”

Xia Guoyuan stroked his beard, which had turned white, and said with a slight sigh: "If you are old, you are old, and you can't accept old age!" In the past few years, he has enjoyed a lot of blessings for his teacher at home with his grandson and chrysanthemum climbing. Alas! This time, if it weren't for His Majesty's several orders to urgently recruit the old man into Beijing, the teacher originally planned to die of old age between the ridges and fields, and he really didn't want to return to Huanhai. ”

Ye Nanqing hurriedly got up and bowed down and said urgently: "The old teacher should be strong, and he should go out of the mountain again to serve the country." The hateful and unscrupulous people steal a high position, but fail to reconcile yin and yang and straighten out the government, which is really worthy of the teachings of the teacher. If His Majesty allows his mentor to return to the government, it will be the blessing of the society and the people. ”

Xia Guoyuan waved his hand to signal Ye Nanqing to sit down, sighed and said: "Even if the old man has this heart, he doesn't have the strength, not to mention spending a few years in the dirt, he has already broken off his thoughts in the early years, so he still doesn't wade into troubled waters." He glanced at Ye Nanqing with deep meaning, and seeing that Ye Nanqing was going to persuade again, he continued: "Nanqing, you are the most proud protégé of the teacher, and you have worked hard all these years. ”

When Ye Nanqing was talking to Xia Guoyuan, he was also carefully looking at his expression with his spare eyes, looking like he was not fake, and he was slightly relieved. He said with a face full of shame: "Teacher, the disciple is dull and stubborn, and he has not inherited your mantle, which is a shame for you. Since the disciple was appointed as the right minister, natural disasters and man-made disasters have continued, the people have been displaced, and the society has been turbulent and unstable. ”

"Nanqing, who has also been in charge of government affairs for the teacher, knows the difficulties and obstacles. The old man knows that you are not afraid of hardships, and you must have put in great effort. If it is really unavoidable, then it is also the time and fate, and you should not blame yourself too much. As long as you do your best, but ask for a clear conscience. ”

"Teacher, disciples are not afraid of natural disasters, because as long as disaster relief is effective, it will not cause a catastrophe, but man-made disasters are extremely hateful. This time, there was a sudden flood in Jinhua and other places in Zhejiang, and the disciples immediately ordered the local people to open warehouses and release grain to help the people; At the same time, the prefect and the county order were required to work together to restrain the gentry from taking the opportunity to hoard the strange and the common people. However, because the disciples did not notice for a while, they almost caused civil unrest and caused a catastrophe. Local officials colluded with the landlords to wantonly resell grain that was often closed, resulting in the yamen having no grain to help, the disaster situation was difficult to alleviate for a long time, and the people were starving all over the wilderness, and the situation was extremely miserable. Disciple hate! I hate those corrupt officials and corrupt officials, hate those landlords and gentry, and hate myself for failing to prevent these disasters in advance. But now, because he cares about the lives of the people, he can only pinch his nose and swallow this bitter fruit and expose the past. Speaking of this, Ye Nanqing couldn't help but shed tears.

Xia Guoyuan was still calm after hearing this, and the ups and downs of the Huan Sea for decades had already let him know that some officials had no lower limit for doing evil. It is not surprising that he has seen a lot of forcible seizures, hoarding, oppressing the people, pointing deer as horses, reversing black and white, etc. He just sighed and said, "Nanqing, I have encountered a lot of this kind of thing as a teacher, and I can tell you that you will encounter it again in the future." So what you can do is to do everything you can to provide disaster relief now and minimize the damage to the people. Dealing with corrupt officials and landlords and gentry is a matter after the disaster has passed. You must understand that now you are no longer an ordinary official who directly asks for the people's lives, but a prime minister who is in charge of the government, reconciles yin and yang, bridges conflicts, deals with troubles, and allows the court to operate in an orderly manner. It is a good thing that you sympathize with the suffering of the people, and it is also the reason why the teacher valued you at that time, but you should not use this as the basis for your actions. ”

Ye Nanqing wiped her tears, her eyes were still red, and she said, "Thank you for your teacher's teachings, my disciple understands." But what is the innocent of the people? Every time the disciple thought that the people were bullied by the landlords and gentry, and even had to sell their children and daughters to survive in the world, the guilt corroded the bones and made it difficult to sleep. After being reminded by the teacher, the disciple knew what to do in the future. ”

Xia Guoyuan nodded approvingly, "Well, Nanqing doesn't have to be too humble!" After many years of official career, you still haven't changed your original intention, which is very rare. Speaking of this, he changed the topic and said: "Nanqing, what turmoil has there been in the imperial court recently?" ”

Ye Nanqing asked with some surprise: "Why did the teacher say this?" ”

"Oh, nothing. The day before yesterday, His Majesty recruited him as a teacher into the palace and awarded the position of prince and teacher. Although the old man tried his best to refuse, His Majesty's attitude was very tough, and he finally had to agree. Because the teacher has been away from the imperial court for several years, and he doesn't know much about the current situation, so he came to ask you. ”

Ye Nanqing thought for a while and replied: "Master, the imperial court has been busy with disaster relief at all its strength recently, but nothing major has happened. Before you entered Beijing, the imperial history of the Metropolitan Procuratorate was still impeaching the disciples for stealing high positions but doing nothing, and there was nothing else to do. He thought for a moment and then said, "Teacher, disciple heard that you were involved in a case when you entered Beijing and passed through Yangzhou, what difficulties did you suffer?" ”

Hearing this, Xia Guoyuan said lightly: "It's just a trivial matter. When the division passed through Yangzhou by boat, the owner of the ship was unfortunately killed, so the prefect of Yangzhou asked the old man to assist in the investigation. ”

"Smack"! Ye Nanqing slapped the stone table fiercely, stood up suddenly, and said angrily: "How can this be true!" Who doesn't know the character of a teacher, who doesn't know? That Liu Mingcheng, as a disciple, not only did he ignore the care of his teacher, but he actually slandered his teacher, and he was really not a son of man! ”

Xia Guoyuan said in a deep voice: "Nanqing, sit down!" Now that you are the right minister, you should always be careful about your words and deeds, how can you say such things? Liu Mingcheng asked the old man to assist in the investigation, which was reasonable, why was it wrong? Could it be that in your heart, the teacher's affection is more important than the law of the country? ”

Ye Nanqing said hurriedly: "Teacher, the disciple didn't mean that. However, however, this matter is obviously not the teacher's doing, so Liu Mingcheng is clearly ......"

Xia Guoyuan interrupted Ye Nanqing's words and scolded: "Nanqing, you are becoming more and more disagreeable. Did you be taught this way before? There is no favoritism under the law! Since he was suspected of being a teacher at that time, he should cooperate. ”

Ye Nanqing blushed, bowed his head to be taught, and said in a low voice: "What the teacher taught is that the disciple has been taught. The disciple just didn't feel sorry for the teacher's name and was tarnished, so he blurted out that he didn't dare to use his power for personal gain. ”

Xia Guoyuan also put away his anger, took a sip of tea and said calmly: "Well, no matter what, you still have to be cautious in your words and deeds in the future, and you must not give someone a handle." There are a lot of small snacks in the middle of the morning, so you still have to pay a little attention. ”