Fan Ning knew that he couldn't bypass the queen mother, and the queen mother announced, so he had to come to Cining Palace hard.

Fan Ning knelt down in front of the bamboo curtain and bowed: "Weichen Fan Ning sees the Queen Mother!" ”

"Get up!"

"Empress Dowager Xie!" Fanning stood up.

Empress Dowager Cao asked coldly, "Do you know why the mourning family is looking for you?" ”

"Wechen knows!"

"Now that you know, why don't you discuss such a big matter with the mourning family?"

Fan Ning pondered for a moment and said, "Weichen doesn't want to create a conflict between the Queen Mother and the Son of Heaven. ”

Empress Dowager Cao was so shrewd that she immediately understood what Fan Ning meant, "You mean to say that resignation was not your intention?" ”

Fan Ning shook his head, "Empress Dowager Qiyu, it was Weichen who took the initiative to resign, Weichen has been fighting in the north and south for the past two years, he is really a little tired, and he has not accompanied his family well, the minister is quite guilty, and his resignation from the military is a relief for both the Son of Heaven and Weichen." ”

"Then why resign from the phase?"

"This is the rule of the Zhizheng Hall, if you take a leave of absence for more than three months, you need to be temporarily suspended, and Wechen wants to go to Beidao to visit his grandmother, but I am afraid that he will not be able to come back until half a year later."

Empress Dowager Cao shook her head, "You all regard the mourning family as fools, is suspension and resignation the same thing?" The official family also said the same, and the mourning family did not expose him, but the mourning family should know what was going on? ”

Fan Ning was silent for a long time and said, "The Queen Mother should know what the reason is. ”

Empress Dowager Cao snorted coldly, "It seems that the newspaper's comments are really right, you have made great contributions and threatened the status of the Son of Heaven, and the mourning family doesn't understand, the dignified Emperor of Song doesn't even have this bit of open-mindedness?" ”

"Queen Mother, standing in the position of the Son of Heaven, he is not at fault, the Great Song Dynasty cannot rely on only one person to conquer the world, not only the Great Song Dynasty, but also any dynasty, if you can only rely on one person, it will be dangerous, and the minister can fully understand the concerns of the Son of Heaven."

"Then why did you resign from the phase, you told the truth to the mourning family, do you want to retreat to the North Island?"

"The Queen Mother, Shiyun, but the king of the world, to win the name before and after his death, this is the idea of all the courtiers, but also the dream of the minister, it doesn't matter how long a minister has been an official in the court, the key is how many things he has done!"

Empress Dowager Cao was silent for a long time and asked, "You should come back, right?" ”

Fanning hesitated for a moment and said, "To be honest, I don't know, it should be more likely to come back, but I can't be sure." ”

"Then there you go! Take care of yourself. ”

"Please also take care of the Queen Mother, Weichen retires!"

Fan Ning slowly withdrew from Cining Palace, Empress Dowager Cao suddenly felt very tired, she thought of Gao Tao, I don't know if Fan Ning's departure is a good thing for herself, or a loss?

…………

As soon as Fan Ning returned to the house, his second wife Ouyang Qian greeted him and said anxiously: "Husband, my father is here!" ”

Fan Ning sighed secretly in his heart, the impact of his resignation was too great, and even Ouyang Xiu, who had always been indifferent, was shocked.

"Where is my father-in-law?"

"In the Cuiyun Building's guest room, it's been here for a while."

Fanning nodded, "I'll go meet him." ”

Fan Ning walked quickly towards Cuiyun Tower, and Ouyang Qian hurriedly followed a few steps and said, "Father is asking about her husband's resignation. ”

"I can imagine, what else is he asking?"

"Then he asked us if we were going to the North Island, and he asked me if I was going to the North Island as a family."

"And how do you answer?"

"I didn't hide it from him, I told him the truth that the whole family did plan to go to the North Island together."

"And then?"

"No more, my father didn't say anything, just waiting for my husband to come back, husband, did I say the wrong thing?"

Fan Ning smiled: "Of course it's not wrong, this matter shouldn't have been hidden from him in the first place." ”

"But...... I was a little worried that my father would object. ”

"No, don't worry! Your father is a man who understands, and he knows why I made this decision. ”

As the husband and wife spoke, they came to Cuiyun Tower, and Fan Ning saw his father-in-law Ouyang Correction standing in front of Cuiyun Peak with his hands in front of Cuiyun Peak to watch the first stone in the capital.

Fanning stepped forward and said apologetically: "Let my father-in-law wait for a long time!" ”

Ouyang Xiu pointed to Cuiyun Peak and said with a smile: "Every time I see this strange stone, there is a novelty, which is eye-catching, and it is worthy of being the first strange stone in the capital." ”

"If my father-in-law likes it, I'll give it to my father-in-law!"

Ouyang Xiu shook his head, "What are you giving me for, I can watch it for a few more years, you can take it yourself!" ”

Fan Ning was silent, Ouyang Xiu had something to say, it seemed that he had already understood it in his heart.

Later, Ouyang Qian hurriedly said: "Husband, please come in and sit down!" ”

Fan Ning nodded and hurriedly waved his hand, "Father-in-law, please come into the lobby and talk in detail." ”

Ouyang Xiu smiled, turned around and walked towards the lobby.

Weng and his son-in-law sat down in the lobby, Ouyang Qian hurriedly arranged for the maid to serve tea, Ouyang Xiu smiled and said, "Qian'er, you go and get busy!" I'll talk to Aning. ”

Ouyang Qian looked at her husband, Fan Ning nodded, and Ouyang Qian had to leave.

Ouyang Xiu shook his head and smiled: "I still have to listen to my husband, I'm a father, and it's useless to speak." ”

Fan Ning hurriedly explained: "Ah Qian has always cared about respecting her father-in-law. ”

"No need to explain, it's normal, I don't mind at all."

After a pause, Ouyang Xiu asked again: "Qian'er said that you were summoned by the Queen Mother, did the Queen Mother keep you?" ”

Fanning groaned, "She meant it, but in the end she didn't force me. ”

Ouyang Xiu nodded, "I think it's the same, the Queen Mother has to take care of the face of the Son of Heaven after all." ”

"When are you going to go to the North Island?" Ouyang Xiu asked with a smile again.

"Clean it up, about half a month later! As soon as the fleet arrived in Quanzhou, they had to transfer to Yangzhou, and the crew needed to rest for a few days, and they would set off in half a month. ”

Fanning was a little strange, he smiled and asked, "I thought my father-in-law was going to persuade me to stay." ”

Ouyang Xiu shook his head, "What is there to persuade, besides, you definitely have to come back, where is it possible to leave like this." ”

"The son-in-law didn't discuss it with his father-in-law before he resigned, and the son-in-law was really ashamed."

"It's nothing."

Ouyang Xiu smiled gently: "Actually, it was also my expectation that you resigned and left. ”

Seeing that his son-in-law looked puzzled, Ouyang Xiu took a sip of tea before he said slowly: "Over the years, your family and the Zhu family have left the Great Song Dynasty in a planned and step-by-step manner, everyone has seen it, and I know it very well, but if you don't say it, I know that you will leave sooner or later, but I didn't expect this day to come so quickly." ”

Fan Ning was speechless for a while, in fact, he also knew that this kind of thing was difficult to hide from the eyes of those who cared, he originally planned to retreat gradually in ten years, but now that the Son of Heaven was suspicious of him, it was the best opportunity for him to leave.

Ouyang Xiu smiled again: "With your talent, you won't live under people for a long time, and your departure is a good thing for the Son of Heaven and for you, so I'm not here to dissuade you today." ”

Fan Ning nodded silently, Ouyang Xiu glanced at Fan Ning and said, "Virtuous son-in-law, when I came to the door today, I actually had something to ask for!" ”

Fan Ning hurriedly said: "Father-in-law is serious, if you have something to say, just tell your son-in-law!" ”

Ouyang Xiu sighed and said: "I have six children in my life, of which the eldest son and eldest daughter were born to my ex-wife, and my current wife is relatively strong and even more eccentric, I don't say anything about the situation at home, you also know, I am not in good health, I am old, and I am estimated to not live too long." ”

"Father-in-law, don't say that, take good care of it, and you won't have a problem living for another twenty or thirty years."

"You don't have to persuade me, I'm not afraid of death, besides, I have achieved fame in my life, and I have no regrets in death, but the only thing I can do is not worry about my eldest son, he is not from a professional background, plus I have offended a lot of people, and several opportunities for promotion have been suppressed, he has been wandering for many years from the sixth grade, and it is estimated that he will not be promoted, let alone the fifth grade, I never expect it, he himself understands in his heart, virtuous son-in-law, I implore you to take him to Beidao as well."

Fan Ning was taken aback, it turned out that his father-in-law wanted to take his eldest son Ouyang Hua to Beidao with him, which was really unexpected by him, but it was not surprising to think about it, Ouyang Xiu was indeed in bad health, not a longevity, and it was estimated that there would not be a few years.

Once he died, his eldest son Ouyang Hua had almost nothing, and Ouyang Xiu had offended too many people, Ouyang Hua's life would be sad, and he would want his eldest son to go with him.

Fan Ning pondered and asked, "I am very willing to relieve my father-in-law's worries and take my eldest brother away, but is he willing to abandon his official position and go to Beidao?" ”

"I talked to him, and he was willing, as were his wife and children."

Fanning nodded, "Okay! I promised my father-in-law that I would take my eldest brother's family to the North Island, and he should pack up now, and we will officially leave in half a month. ”