Having said this, Xue Ji also understood, without Cheng not being surprised, then it would be much easier for him to inform the Ministry of Rites in advance and temporarily report his illness.

"Providence."

It's almost the New Year, and there is such a big funeral, as far as the nobles in the palace are concerned, they are naturally not very happy, and they are disgusted with this bad luck. Moreover, Cheng Bu was surprised by the various deeds of this person, which was really not very pleasant, from the news to the first July 1st out of the city to be buried, Qin Xu allowed the people below to send some silver to his relatives according to the official practice, and he didn't ask a word from beginning to end.

It's chilling, but it's also expected. In this regard, all officials are accustomed to it, and no one can't think of mentioning it in public.

By the time it was Chinese New Year's Eve, the limelight had almost passed.

Although it is a day of celebration of the New Year, the saint seals and hundreds of officials are resting, but Xue Ji has not been idle. Chinese New Year's Eve kept a night of sleep, and the next day at noon on the first day of the new year, he went to the door to find Xu Lang.

"Yo, Brother Qing!" Xu Lang arrived in the front hall, looked at the person who came, looked slightly stunned, then changed his smile, and stepped forward: "Brother Qing, Happy New Year, I didn't prepare for coming here early in the morning......

Xue Ji heard him so polite, and hurriedly raised his hand to stop: "Don't bother, I'm here today to inform you of something."

Xu Lang understood: "Go to the study and talk about it."

The two entered the study, and sandalwood tobacco wafted out of the incense burner on the table, and there were books neatly placed on the mahogany shelf on the side, as well as a few porcelain glazed ornaments. Look at the jade carved screen on the side, the golden silk nanmu is framed, and the white jade color is crystal clear......

Xue Ji looked back at Xu Lang and seemed to sigh casually: "Lord Xu, Brother Wubo. Your study is expensive, and ordinary people don't dare to come."

There are so many things in the imperial court, and Xu Lang's family is not a wealthy merchant family, and the extravagant objects in his house may not be made by the imperial court in ten years.

Xu Lang's hands are not clean.

When the water is clear, there are no fish, Xue Ji understands this truth. The Xu family has been an official for several generations, and they are most familiar with the pickled things in officialdom such as corruption and bribery.

However, Xu Lang, as Shang Shuling, stayed under His Majesty's nose, and the thick foundation of this family was a bit too ostentatious.

After he knocked on it in a few words, Xu Lang bowed his head slightly, and responded, "Understand, don't worry, Prime Minister."

Putting this matter aside for the time being, the two sat at the table, Xue Ji took a sip of hot tea to moisten his throat, and began to get to the point. He came today not for anything else, but for the eve of the Spring Festival.

In the early spring, there were many students and candidates from all over the city in Chang'an City, but all the inns in the city had already been filled by the candidates. There is no shortage of them in the private room of the teahouse, and there are always literati drinking tea and writing poems and expressing Yaxing.

Less than ten days before the start of the Spring Exam, Xue Ji was ready to pretend to be sick, and the Ministry of Rites had already drawn up a backup plan under his instructions, just waiting for a few days when the time was ripe......

It's a pity that before Xue Fu sent someone to report his illness, Xue Ji received a letter from Jiangling.

Seeing that the person who delivered the letter was dressed in plain clothes and had a white rope around his waist, Xue Ji had a faint sense of foreboding in his heart.

I opened the letter and read it word by word, and it was as expected.

This is mourning.

Not long after the Shangyuan Festival, on the eighteenth day of the first lunar month, Xue Yao, the old man of the Xue family and Xue Ji's father, closed his eyes and fell asleep at night and never woke up. At his old age, he is considered to be dead.

When Xue Ji heard the news, his heart was mixed, and his guilt was greater than his grief. When he was young, he always disobeyed his father in Gangneung, and the two would quarrel endlessly if they disagreed, and this problem did not change much in middle age, and the last time I went back, the two of them had cold faces at the dinner table.

Counting with his hands, he has only gone back once or twice in the past few decades, and he can't stay long every time he goes back, just for ten days, most of them are still with his mother.

Xue Ji felt uncomfortable in his heart, but his eyes were extremely dry, and he couldn't shed tears.

"Pack your things and get ready to go back to Gangneung."

How could Shen Yurong not see the pain in his eyes, hearing this, he followed the answer, turned around and was about to go back to the house to pack his bags, but after a slight pause under his feet, he hesitated again. "Your Majesty's ......"

Xue

Ji Shen said, "I will enter the palace to face the saint."

The Imperial Study

Qin Xu covered his mouth and coughed, and the towel in his hand was already stained with Yin Yin's blood. He leaned on the dragon chair in the center, and his eyes never left Xue Ji in front of him.

finally breathed a sigh of relief before saying, "You mean, worry about your father?"

Ding Wei has been gone for three years, and the situation between the DPRK and China has changed dramatically in the past three years, and when he comes back, he may already be Chen Shao's world, are you really willing to do it?

Qin Xu didn't say this sentence. But he believed that Xue Ji couldn't have thought of it.

"The court can't do without you, Prime Minister, and I can allow you to win love."

Xue Ji couldn't help but sneer in his heart, it was too fake. Who doesn't know that Xu Yan is His Majesty's right-hand man, even if he is gone, with Xu Yan, he can be peaceful.

Moreover, does he really think that people only have power and interests in their hearts?

"The minister has been in the court for more than 20 years, and he has only gone home twice, although he is loyal to the minister, but he has not fulfilled the filial piety of his son for a day, and now his father has passed away, and the minister is grief-stricken and painful, and he may not be able to resist the guilt in his heart for three years, let alone the love."

Xue Ji burst into tears when he said this, and the moment the words fell, he bowed down on his knees, and his tone was sincere: "The minister wants to worry about his father, and I beg Your Majesty for permission."

A cold light flashed in Qin Xu's eyes, staring at him tightly, eager to stare him out of a hole, so as to see through what he was thinking in his heart.

Without a response, Xue Ji couldn't kneel for a long time, and both of them had a stunned posture, which made the atmosphere in the imperial study stalemate.

After a long time, Qin Xu compromised for the first time.

"Yes."

In the early morning of the next day, Xue Ji took his eldest son Xue Chen and went out of the city first. Behind him was Wang Qu driving the car, and Shen Yurong and two or three of his female dependents followed closely.

After Wu Yan was convicted and exiled, Xue Ji had not seen the newly appointed prefect, but today he really didn't have the leisure to deal with these officials, he flicked his sleeves and sent them one by one, and went straight to Xue's house in the city.

The gate of Xue's mansion had just been renovated two years ago, and Xue Ji didn't dare to recognize it when he arrived at the door and looked at the unfamiliar façade plaque, but the white sail hanging on it made him sure that this was the Xue family.

Xue Ji stretched out his slightly trembling hands and pushed open the door of the Xue family. The familiar figure came into view, and he burst into tears.

"Mother, eldest brother, sister-in-law."

Chang Shi was already full of gray hair, turned his head when he heard the voice, let go of the hand that Xue Qi was holding on the side, and stepped forward to hug Xue Ji, his voice trembled, and there were tears in his eyes. "My son, my son, are you back......

The mother and son hugged each other for a long time, and Xue Ji softly comforted his elderly mother, until her mood gradually stabilized, and Xue Cai led him to his father's spirit.

Xue Ji knelt in front of the spirit and kowtowed, Xue Qi looked down at him on the side, seeing that his face was haggard, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes and forehead, and the silver threads in his hair, he was full of emotion for a while.

"How long will you be back this time?"

Xue Ji just raised his head, still kneeling and didn't get up, listening to his question, he answered: "Three years."

"Three years?" Xue Qi thought that he would stay as prime minister for ten days and half a month at most, but he was shocked when he heard his words. "When you go back, the sky should have changed, right?"

Xue Ji smiled bitterly: "I am Xue Ji, the second son of the Xue family, and I am the prime minister of the Great Zhou. No matter how blind I am to glory, wealth, power, and power, I can't even keep my filial piety."

Xue Qi was a little relieved, but he couldn't help but worry. "Chen Shao is not a thing in the pool, even if you come back, you can't really ignore what is going on outside the window."

"I understand."

Xue Ji kept watch in front of his father's spirit all night, and did not return to the house to rest until the next morning.

It was still the room where he used to live, and not a single table or chair in it had been touched, exactly the same as it had been twenty or thirty years.

Maybe it's because he's old, no more frivolous than his youth, Xue Ji faintly has some retreat in his heart. That position, cautious and walking on thin ice, is not something ordinary people can afford.

At this time, he suddenly understood why Jiang Yan never returned.

The night in early spring was still a little cool, Xue Ji lay down under the quilt, but he couldn't sleep. For some reason, for several nights in a row, as soon as he closed his eyes, he could hear the voice of His Majesty changing his "prime minister", and the voice was fluttering and lingering in his ears.