"Dad, what's wrong with you, you look sad?" Yan Shifan couldn't help but be a little surprised when he saw Yan Song come in, and he looked bitter and hateful, "Could it be that the emperor didn't agree to the suggestion you made?" ”

"Sort of..."Yan Song sat down in his seat dejectedly, "I'm afraid I'm going to do this time... offended Xia Yan again..."

"Huh? What's going on? Yan Shifan asked, pulling a stool and sitting next to Yan Song. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info

"When I went to see the emperor just now, I didn't expect Xia Yan to be there, but the emperor showed Xia Yan my recital, and asked Xia Yan's opinion..."Yan Song paused, raised his head to look at Yan Shifan, "After Xia Yan read it, he clearly objected, and in the end the emperor still agreed with Xia Yan's opinion..."

"So that's the case, I thought something else was going on..."Yan Shifan smiled, but his face was relaxed.

"Isn't that enough?" Yan Song couldn't help but be a little indignant when he saw Yan Shifan's nonchalant appearance, "Originally, I wanted to play quietly, but who would have thought that I would run into Xia Yan, and Xia Yan also spoke out against it, so not only was his suggestion refuted, but he also offended Xia Yan, this is really... It's really a loss for my wife and a soldier! ”

"Haha... Dad, you just offended a Xia Yan, are you so anxious? ”

"What do you mean just offending a Xia Yan?" Yan Song also looked at Yan Shifan's gaze with some anger, "Fan'er, I see that you are becoming more and more disagreeable, have you forgotten last time... How many times did I go to Xia Yan's mansion last time to get Xia Yan's understanding and repair the gap between me and Xia Yan, but in this way, last time... It's all in vain..."

"Dad, do you think that if Xia Yan doesn't come this time, your matter will be very secretive, and when the ministers congratulate him, he has no way of knowing that it was you who made this suggestion to the emperor?" Yan Shifan's expression also became serious.

"This..."Yan Song's gaze also became hesitant, "I'm afraid he will know afterwards..."

"That's right, Xia Yan will also know afterwards, then you will also offend Xia Yan at that time, and at this time, you will just offend earlier..."Yan Shifan looked at Yan Song with a smile, "Dad, did you say that my analysis was correct?" ”

"You're right, it's just... It's just that I don't want to offend Xia Yan yet, after all, he..."Yan Song said this, and his tone was a little helpless.

"But even if you don't offend Xia Yan this time, can you guarantee that you won't offend Xia Yan in the future?" Yan Shifan looked at Yan Song, his expression was quite interesting.

"Fan'er, what the hell do you mean?" At this time, Yan Song suppressed his sad face, looked at Yan Shifan calmly and asked.

"I mean... Dad, if you want to go further, you must offend Xia Yan, this is something that you and I can't control..."Yan Shifan said meaningfully, "Last time I suggested that you go to Xia Yan's Mansion to make peace, because the voice of the court and the central government was too strong against you at that time, you must win Xia Yan's support and use Xia Yan's big tree to block the wind and rain for you, but now you don't need it anymore, so it's time to break with Xia Yan..."

"Huh? But I don't want to yet..."Yan Song's tone was hesitant, making it impossible to guess what he wanted to say.

"It's not that you don't want to break with Xia Yan, but you are not ready to break with Xia Yan." Yan Shifan's words were a bit to the point, "But now I can't help you, even if you don't want to break with Xia Yan, then Xia Yan will break with you." ”

Seeing that Yan Song still looked undecided, Yan Shifan persuaded on the side, "Dad, think about it, you are now a scholar of the Ministry of Rites, what else can Xia Yan help you?" Could it be that you still want Xia Yan to promote you to the cabinet and take over as the first assistant of the cabinet, he Xia Yan has not yet sat in the position of the first assistant of the cabinet! ”

"I don't have this idea, it's just that Xia Yan is powerful, I'm afraid of offending him, and my life in the court will not be easy in the future..."Yan Song lowered his head and said the truest thoughts in his heart, "You also know that now Xia Yan's favor is not declining, although I am also favored by the emperor now, but... After all, I can't resist Xia Yan..."

"Your worries are indeed right..."At this time, Yan Shifan's brows also twisted.

"Dad, I just want to ask you a word..."Yan Shifan leaned closer to Yan Song again, and his voice also lowered, "Are you willing to finish this career in peace and stability in the position of the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, or do you want to give it a chance to be a supreme minister?" ”

"This..."Yan Song stared at Yan Shifan, his eyes became a little unpredictable, "If you say that when my father was just a small official of the Hanlin Academy before, he naturally didn't have so many ideas, but now that my father has come to this position, he naturally wants to be able to get ahead one day and glorify our ancestors for the Yan family..."

"That's right..."Yan Shifan's face was happy, "But you will never be able to realize this idea if you follow Xia Yan, not to mention that it is an extremely risky thing to bet on Xia Yan, even you are older than Xia Yan, how can you expect..." Isn't this a clear curse that his father can't survive and dies early?

When Yan Song heard this, his expression was also a little displeased, and he glared at Yan Shifan fiercely, but his face was also bloody, "How can you take a risk by putting your bet on Xia Yan, now Xia Yan can be said to be the most favored minister in the court, how many ministers are attached to his door, how can it be said that pressing on Xia Yan is a risky thing?" ”

"Because it is better to trust no one than to trust yourself." Yan Shifan said word by word, "Can Xia Yan guarantee that he has always been favored?" If you put all your bets on Xia Yan, and wait until Xia Yan is disliked by the emperor one day, then your career may come to an end. Think about it, after the fall of Zhang Fujing, who in his party will stay in the DPRK smoothly and still rise step by step, if you really want to rely on Xia Yan, it will be a matter of both glory and loss..."

"And your thoughts are also different from Xia Yan's, which determines that you will never be Xia Yan's most solid comrade..."Yan Shifan didn't care about Yan Song's face at this time, so he said it all in one go, "Although Xia Yan is quite talented, he is indecisive, and he is a little arrogant and paranoid, and even sometimes almost pedantic, so you sometimes often have political disagreements with Xia Yan, which is one of the reasons why I said that you will offend Xia Yan in the future..."In fact, Xia Yan is an upright official, but Yan Song is tactful, this point determines that Xia Yan and Yan Song will never really get along, but in Yan Shifan's eyes, it is not his father who is cunning, but Xia Yan is pedantic.

"But... But Dad doesn't want to have a stiff relationship with Xia Yan yet..."Yan Song said slowly, obviously he hadn't been disrupted by Yan Shifan's coherent logical analysis.

"Yes, you don't have to stiffen the relationship with Xia Yan now, at least there is no need for this on the surface, you still have to be amicable on the face, don't let Xia Yan target you and become Xia Yan's enemy on the surface..." At this time, Xia Yan's attitude is not important, the emperor's attitude is the most important! ”

"Fan'er, then you say... What should I do this time? ”

"Dad, let me ask you, does the emperor want the ministers to congratulate him this time?" Yan Shifan asked in a low voice.

"According to my observation, the emperor must have wanted the ministers to congratulate him, but for some reason, the emperor did not agree..."

"That's enough..."Yan Shifan laughed, "The reason why the emperor didn't agree, Xia Yan's statement is one of the reasons, and the attitude of the ministers is another important reason, this trip to Chengtian, it can be seen that many ministers are reluctant in their hearts, this may be the biggest scruple in the emperor's heart..."

"But this is just our opportunity, the ministers are unwilling, so you are willing to support the emperor, as long as it conforms to the emperor's wishes, then everything will be easy to do..."Yan Shifan squinted his eyes and laughed, "So this time, you don't care whether he Xia Yan is willing or not, just play it, and fully support the emperor's practice of allowing the ministers to congratulate him, which will definitely be in line with the emperor's wishes, then the status of you and Xia Yan in the emperor's heart is probably going to change again..."

"But if Dad does this, I'm afraid I'll offend Xia Yan again this time..."Yan Song sighed helplessly, "In this way, Dad is not sure that he can repair the relationship with Xia Yan..."

"Dad, are you still hesitant to break away from Xia Yan's protection?" Yan Shifan frowned and asked, "Dad, why don't you understand, now Xia Yan is not a ladder for promotion, but a stumbling block on your way forward, only if you get rid of him, you can have a bright future!" ”

"Fan'er, you make a little noise..."Yan Song made a silent movement, "Fan'er, although you are smart, you still don't know too much about this government matter..."

"Why don't I understand?" Yan Shifan's tone was a little unconvinced, "Dad, I want to think about what Zhang Fujing's identity was at the beginning, didn't he still force Yang Tinghe to retire from the position of the first assistant of the cabinet, when Xia Yan was favored, he was just a petty official of the ministry, but Zhang Fujing was also the first assistant of the cabinet." You are now a scholar of the Ministry of Rites, and there are many of your forces in the court, why are you still afraid of that Xia Yan? So do you think you can wait until you reach the position of the first assistant of the cabinet to compete with Xia Yan? ”

"This is not a matter of officials at all!" Yan Song tapped his fingers on the table beside him, as if to emphasize something, "At the beginning, the Holy Lord had just ascended the throne, and Yang Tinghe threatened the monarch with power, so it was a matter of time before he became a leader, and Zhang Xuan just caught up with a good time." Zhang Fujing was the same when he was the first assistant of the cabinet, and in the later period, he often rebelled against the holy will, and his grace gradually declined, and Xia Yan only played a helping role. But now Xia Yan hasn't done anything wrong, and his favor is growing, if you want to shake his position, I'm afraid it's difficult..."

"Who said that he didn't do anything wrong, there is one thing in front of him, and the last time he "called the Zongyuan Temple" is another thing, I think his good days for Xia Yan are coming to an end..."

"Fan'er, you're too naïve to think about it, these two things alone are not enough to bring down Xia Yan, Xia Yan is definitely a rising situation in the emperor's heart." Yan Song looked at Yan Shifan with a somewhat puzzled look in his eyes and said, "The emperor trusts Xia Yan and needs Xia Yan, there is no doubt about it, and now he is-for-tat with Xia Yan Actually... Not a smart move..."

"Then you can't give up this opportunity to express your heart to the emperor because of Xia Yan..."Yan Shifan listened to Yan Song's analysis just now, and his tone was not as firm as before, "In short, it must be right to continue to speak to the emperor this time, the two sides are weighed, you will always gain more than you lose..."

"I've figured this out too..."Yan Song looked at Yan Shifan and said, "I will play to the emperor again tomorrow, and ask the emperor to allow the ministers to congratulate..."

"Dad, you've finally figured it out!" Yan Shifan said excitedly, "I'll just say, you can't always pin your hopes on Xia Yan, I see that Xia Yan's grace is also intermittent, the emperor's mind is unpredictable, one will be good and one will be bad, you see that the emperor is angry, even the queen is whipped and scolded, and even entered the cold palace, not to mention the people waiting beside him, punishment at every turn, I will watch this development continue..."

"Shut up!" Yan Song glared at Yan Shifan fiercely, and raised his hand out, almost slapping Yan Shifan, "You can also say this kind of rebellious words, be careful with me in the future, the trouble will come out of your mouth, do you know that this officialdom needs you to learn too much!" ”

"Yes, Dad, I wrote it down..."Yan Shifan saw his father's angry face, and hurriedly lowered his head obediently, not daring to say a word more.

"Fan'er, my father was anxious for you just now, just if you talk like this, you act recklessly, sooner or later, you will get into trouble for yourself..."Yan Song said with a sigh on the side.

"Dad, I know..."Yan Shifan heard Yan Song say this, and his heart also relaxed, "Dad, in fact, what I just meant is that the saint's favor is uncertain, you rely too much on Xia Yan, but Xia Yan may not always be able to meet the emperor's wishes, for example, these two things recently, Xia Yan has not done very well, who knows if he will do other things that anger the saint in the future, so it is better for you to cross Xia Yan's level, directly please the saint, rely on the emperor's favor and trust, and seek promotion, which is much safer than relying on Xia Yan..."

"Fan'er, you're right..."Yan Song patted Yan Shifan's shoulder gently, feeling that at this time, Yan Shifan's image of fat head and big ears, blind and lame legs had become handsome and chic.

In fact, Yan Shifan said these words, Yan Song did not take into account them in private, he also knew that Zhu Houxi's temper was uncertain, and he also knew that Zhu Houxi's favor was not easy to obtain. But he thought about it for a long time, and always felt that since Xia Yan had been deeply favored by Zhu Houxi in the past few years, he must have his own methods, and it was always not wrong to put the bet on him. But he also recently discovered that Xia Yan would also do something that angered Zhu Houxi, and Zhu Houyu would also scold and punish Xia Yan.

And when he tried to please Zhu Houxi, he also found that this matter was indeed much more difficult than he imagined, Zhu Houxi was indeed very smart, he could guess the minds of many ministers, and he was suspicious and short-tempered, plus many ministers coveted the position of the first assistant, if he really wanted to be a very popular minister, it was indeed more difficult for grace to remain undiminished, and Yan Song couldn't help but have a deep feeling of "accompanying the king like a tiger".

"In fact, my father also knows that the emperor's attitude is the most important, and my father also knows that winning the emperor's support is the most important, but other factors must also be considered, I don't know if you still remember Zhang Fujing's false accusation of Xia Yan in the tenth year of Jiajing, at that time, Xia Yan only wanted to win the emperor's support, regardless of the attitude of Zhang Fujing's party, as a result, Zhang Fujing has always regarded Xia Yan as the biggest enemy, and in the end, if Xia Yan was not lucky, it is estimated that he was killed in the false accusation incident in the tenth year of Jiajing, so Dad doesn't want to be as sharp as him, he doesn't know how to hide, and Dad doesn't want Xia Yan to treat Dad as his biggest enemy..."Yan Song babbled to Yan Shifan about the truest thoughts in his heart.

"So that's what my father thought..."Yan Shifan scratched his head embarrassedly, "So it seems that I didn't think it through..."

"It's not that you don't think it through, in fact, you always live under Xia Yan, and your father doesn't want to..."Yan Song said this, as if he had a feeling of depression in his heart, and his mood was also a little low.

He remembered the last time he went to Xia Yan's Mansion to reconcile, or ask for forgiveness. The first two times Xia Yan had been closed, and the third time he came to visit, he was finally able to meet Xia Yan after bribing the little guy at the door. Xia Yan's cold tone and disdainful eyes still impressed Yan Song to this day, and it is difficult to forget for a long time. For Yan Song, this is too unforgettable humiliation and unspeakable pain...

"That's... Dad, according to what you say, you really can't be too sharp, so this twist..."At this moment, Yan Shifan's tone became hesitant.

"Don't worry about that, because just now... Dad has already thought of a way to deal with it..."At this time, Yan Song's smile became a little sly, "Because Xia Yan's biggest enemy at this time will definitely not be me... You forgot, Master Li Shi Li just died, and the position of the first assistant of the cabinet is vacant..."

"But Gu Dingchen definitely doesn't have the courage to compete with Xia Yan for the position of the first assistant of the cabinet." Yan Shifan thought as he spoke, "It's not right, Gu Dingchen doesn't fight, the others..."

"Don't worry, the position of the first assistant of the cabinet will definitely be Xia Yan's in the end, and no one can snatch it, but looking at the current situation, Xia Yan's position as the first assistant of the cabinet will not be as smooth as expected, and it is estimated that some people will be ready to move..."

"Dad, it's not just the ministers..."Yan Shifan's thoughts also suddenly became clear at this time, "I think that Guo Xun, the Marquis of Wuding, is Xia Yan's biggest enemy now, as long as Guo Xun is here, Xia Yan's position as the first assistant will not be peaceful for a day..."

"Not only that..."Yan Song leaned forward with a smile, "I think Huo Tao will also become a heart disease for Xia Yan... Huo Tao was transferred back from Jinling a few days ago, this pair of old enemies, I'm afraid Huo Tao won't let Xia Yan's life go too smoothly, haha..."

"That's... Dad, what do you mean? ”

"I mean Xia Yan definitely doesn't want to make too many enemies now, so I don't have to worry about how Xia Yan will feel if I do this..."Yan Song's smile made the folds on his face more and more obvious, "If I do this, Xia Yan will definitely be unhappy, but I will definitely not become his number one enemy, Guo Xun, Huo Tao is enough for him to be busy... I haven't figured it out just now, but after you say this, I understand it completely..."

"As long as I know how to be restrained in doing things, then there will be no problem, Xia Yan will not point his finger at me... Just like you said, after weighing the pros and cons, I think it's worth it, even if I offend Xia Yan occasionally, it doesn't matter, just run to Xia Yan's mansion twice..."Yan Song stood up with a smile and brushed his sleeve robe, "I'll play to the emperor tomorrow and ask for permission to congratulate the ministers." Yan Song bowed down in a dignified manner as he spoke.