Beijing has been short of water since ancient times, and water must be diverted into Beijing, and Deshengmen Water Pass is the largest water diversion into the city water pass in Beijing. The water of the eyes is injected through this, nourishing the entire capital.

The pond that is close to the water pass is the West Sea in the three seas of Shichahai, the temple palace view gathers here, every summer and autumn two seasons, ten miles of lotus fragrance in the water, thousands of hectares of rice waves on the shore, the scenery is pleasant, it is a good place for the literati to play and enjoy the chanting, many relatives and eunuchs buy a field house here, or build a grace garden, for a time, here has become the resort where the dignitaries and the noble and the noble gather together.

From the Liao, Jin, Yuan and Ming dynasties, the poems and texts left by the literati of the past dynasties are incalculable. However, what awaited him was not a poetry banquet after all, and although the willows were like smoke and the lotus fragrance was overflowing, his mind was always outside the scenery.

Smoke willow shades a small wooden bridge, the vermilion carved railings on both sides are about two zhang long, cross the wooden bridge, enter a bright elegant room, stop in the antique charm of several cases and the four walls of the hanging calligraphy and painting, the nose is a faint sandalwood, as well as the natural fragrance of the outdoor flower forest.

The strong wind swept away the flower forest outside the window, revealing the silhouette of gulls and herons skimming the sky.

Hu Hui, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, stepped forward, "Hu Hu, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, see His Royal Highness the King of Yue." ”

Almost at the same moment, Zhu Qiming bowed and saluted back, "Xiao Wang has seen Master Hu." ”

Hu Hui greeted Zhu Qiming to take a seat diligently, at the age of seventy-three, although his face was wrinkled, his warm smile made it easy for people to ignore his age, and after a few greetings, he felt that he was a close friend who had been with him for many years.

After a lapse of six years, Hu Hu has completely become a smiling person, with a light tone, joy and anger, in the words of modern people, that is, easy-going, good-tempered, no arrogance, and can get along with anyone, even if there is a ten-year-old junior among his colleagues, he will not hesitate to call "big brother".

In any era, easy-going people are more popular than people with flamboyant personalities.

Hu Hui waved his hand gently, and the two maids who were about thirteen years old entered to serve tea, from the cloth cup to the departure, the two of them never made a sound when they raised their hands, and the elegance was not much better than that of the well-trained palace maids in the palace. Zhu Qiming couldn't help but think of the only two old grandmothers left in Yuefu, and said secretly: Ashamed!

"In the lower old man, the middle of the court is often inadequate, it is difficult to live the holy will, the old man is always thinking, should he go into seclusion and live for a long time?"

Hu Hui's opening remarks are gossip. Zhu Qiming understands that Hu Hu doesn't like to talk useless nonsense, it depends on how the listener figure it out. Nowadays, most of the emperor's recitals to many people are as good as flowing, and after hearing the recitals, he is accustomed to saying three words: Discuss and do! As soon as this statement came out, it showed that the emperor had generally adopted the opinions of the performers, but the details still had to be checked and improved by the relevant departments. However, the emperor rarely said the three words "discuss and act" in Hu Hui's recital, and always put aside the government mentioned by Hu Hui, said some digressions, and then did not say anything.

Does this show that Hu Hu is incompetent and the emperor treats Hu Hu coldly? I'm afraid it won't be that simple!

Zhu Qiming is not Wuxia Ameng, many tricks of acting can't hide from his eyes, otherwise, if he is reincarnated as a folk in the next life, he will become an official in the court once after studying hard in the cold window, and he will believe the tricks on the face of the court in a vague way, and he only knows how to do things honestly, and I am afraid that he will not know how he died unjustly when the time comes! Also promoted? Still on the rise? Dream on!

As the saying goes: it's hard to be confused! The emperor has been in power for many years, so it is natural to cut off from the past. Now Lord Hu is cautious in his words and deeds, picking some trivial matters, and deliberately leaving some flaws, so that the emperor can point out the fallacies, so that in the emperor's mind, Lord Hu has become a subordinate who can be heard and recalled, rather than the minister who made the Son of Heaven jealous and relied on in the past, which is the wisest choice for Lord Hu. ”

Hu Huwaner, "If those juniors in the court have such insight as His Highness, they will take many detours!" Oops, but His Royal Highness still looks down on the bottom, and he is really old below, how can he have any foresight and wisdom about the government? Doing what you can is just waiting for a rising star to emerge and help them on their journey. ”

Hu Hui slowly led the topic to the major matters he really cared about, but there was no trace in his words, like gossip, which made Zhu Qiming quite impressed.

"Of course, Master Hu has foresight, it depends on what kind of foresight! In other words, forty years ago, Lord Hu didn't have to think about his family, he didn't have a protégé, and he didn't even know his fellow villagers in the court, and at that time he only had the government in his heart, and he naturally didn't take into account anyone in his thoughts, and he only wanted to govern the country and level the world. Now it's different, Lord Hu's descendants are full, protégés and officials are all over the world, and I'm afraid that the number of people I usually have to take into account can't be counted. Therefore, what Master Hu thinks and thinks now is still far-sighted, but the angle of thinking is completely different from that back then! As for the rising stars in the court, the replacement of the old and the new was finalized by the assistant ministers, so what is Lord Hu worried about? ”

Hu Hui's gaze froze, but it was only for a moment, if it wasn't for someone who had a heart, who would have noticed the subtle changes in his expression? "The reason why rising stars become rising stars is because they are often unexpected people, not to mention that the title of assistant minister has become a thing of the past, how can 'Sanyang' manage things after death?"

The private room is half-overhung on the water, and the door is sparkling. Zhu Qiming's eyes chased the birds on the water, and his thoughts swirled in the water. "Lord Hu is quite popular among the hundred officials, and he is friendly with the internal officials, it can be said that he is left and right, and without the recognition of the internal officials and Jiuqing, who else in the DPRK can come out of nowhere? Xiao Wang was puzzled, I don't know where Lord Hu's worries came from! ”

"Isn't there still His Highness?" Hu Hui's expression did not change, and his tone remained calm.

"Xiao Wang's actions have nothing to do with the government."

"It seems to be unrelated, but it is actually related, and after seeing Xining, it is even more closely related!"

Zhu Qiming smiled indifferently, but his heart was not as relaxed as it looked, he suddenly realized that if he wanted to pass Hu Hu's level and see Xining, it was almost an impossible task, unless he had a handle that could be manipulated and fell into the hands of others!

It is one thing to install people you can trust everywhere, and it is another thing to be able to control the people you use, after all, loyalty is an ethereal thing that is extremely unreliable, and even the rules of the game of interest transfer are very easy to be subverted by the comparative interest selection of the beneficiary and the law of diminishing marginal returns, let alone others! It's better to grasp the handle that is enough to ruin the other party's reputation. Gripping the handle is the ultimate trick to control people!

And a prince is not under the control of Jiuqing at all, if you want to make a restless prince be honest and not harm the interests of others, the only way to use it is to use the trick.

There was a long silence in the room.

······

The queen mother sat in the main hall of Xianxi Palace, the queen and Concubine Zhou entered together, and after asking for peace and giving a seat, the three of them still had time to talk about gossip before the inner servant passed the rumor that Lu Xiyao entered the meeting inside.

The queen over there smiled, "Queen Mother, Qin Huifei is capable, it has only been more than a month, and the accumulated silver has exceeded one million, which is unbelievable!" ”

Concubine Zhou glanced at the queen, and then looked at the queen mother with a smile, "The queen mother, it stands to reason that all the affairs in the palace have to be taken care of by you personally, the queen's assistant, but the matter of being in charge of the treasury of the Shanggong Bureau does not seem to be like this, you just put up a name, and you always let Hui Concubine take care of it on weekdays, and Hui Concubine has a low point of difference, this move ······ Non-compliance system. ”

The queen shook her head lightly, "Sister Zhou's words about regulations, although it is reasonable, but the queen mother has her own plans, so we can't discuss it." ”

"The Queen Mother has always valued the palace rules, but she is only a concubine······ Seems to be a bit ······ Excessively, once this case is opened, it is inevitable that others will follow suit in the future, and the queen must not be careless. ”

There was less of the familiar smell of gunpowder in the air, and the queen and Concubine Zhou sang and harmonized, which made the queen mother feel a little uncomfortable, but her mind was all on the future princess Yue, and she had no intention of thinking about the meaning of the two, so she said lightly: "The mourning family is in charge of the treasury of the Shang Palace Bureau, and the other things are not handed over to the two of you to take care of?" Alas, the treasury in the palace is empty, and now Hui Concubine finally has a way to accumulate wealth, let her first, and then make plans for the mourning family. ”

Concubine Zhou seemed to be unconvinced, so she wanted to speak again, but fortunately, a chamberlain reported recently in a timely manner, so that the theme of today's selection of Princess Yue was not diluted by other things.

"Queen Mother, the Lu family is waiting to see you outside."

"Let her in."

"Spread the Lu clan to meet the Queen Mother!"

In the voice of the inner servant, Lu Xiyao entered and made a big salute in front of the queen mother, the queen, and Concubine Zhou in turn, until the end of the ceremony met the queen mother's friendly gaze, and her worried heart calmed down.

"Letting you enter the palace today to meet the mourning family is just a formality, you don't have to be formal. You also know that the Empress Dowager entrusted Qi Ming to the mourning family early, how dare the mourning family live up to the empress dowager's intentions? Don't blame the mourning family for speaking harshly at the beginning, everything the mourning family did was for Qi Ming's good! The Queen Mother was a little emotional and paused for a moment, "That's it, it's all over!" The emperor has ordered someone to make a golden book, from the moment you walked out of Xianxi Palace today, the mourning family decided that you are the princess of Yue, and since then someone has come to the door to perform six salutes, and when you get married, the mourning family is a great matter! ”

Hearing this, although Lu Xiyao had just experienced a thrilling catastrophe yesterday, her heart was still full of happy longing, and she casually glanced at the queen and Concubine Zhou, and saw that they were all smiling and celebrating together, and the remaining panic in her mind quickly slipped away.

"Xi Yao must remember the teachings of the Queen Mother!"

The queen and Concubine Zhou began to discuss the etiquette list and honor guard of Nacaili, and when the women talked about such things, they naturally danced with their eyebrows and relished, and the queen mother on the side also grinned from time to time.

The feeling of happiness was really real, so Lu Xiyao hung her head shyly.

Suddenly, Concubine Zhou said coldly: "Eh, Sister Lu, I heard that you met the five heroes of Xishan on the outskirts of the city yesterday, are you okay?" ”

"Ahh Five Heroes of the West Mountain! Before Concubine Zhou's voice fell, the queen exclaimed: "Those thieves have harmed countless women, and they have targeted them, how can they escape the clutches!" ”

The Empress Dowager was shocked, and her eyes instantly fixed on Lu Xiyao's face, which revealed the meaning of scrutiny.

The shyness froze on Lu Xiyao's face, and she faintly realized that a huge wall of scheming phantoms was floating in front of her, and the bitter taste suddenly came to her heart at this moment.