Sitting in the carriage back to Chang'an, looking at the wilderness outside the car window, Liu Sheng's face was already with a helpless wry smile.

- As expected;

Liu Sheng was placed by the Son of Heaven again.

Only this time, Liu Sheng was not too depressed.

After all, compared with before, letting Liu Sheng worship Shen Tujia as a teacher pushed Liu Sheng to the cusp of 'seizing the heir', causing Li Ji and Liu Rong's mother and son to suspect that incident, the 'errand' that Tianzi Qi confessed this time is at least unlikely to cause trouble to Liu Sheng.

- left and right are just chatting and talking with the Empress Dowager Dou, and finally add a sentence 'Father and the emperor are waiting for the emperor's grandmother in Shanglin Yuan';

This matter can not only be done by Liu Sheng, but also by Liu Wu, the king of Liang, who is also loved by the Empress Dowager Dou, Liu Yan, the owner of the pavilion, and the Gillian Weng of the Tangyi Marquis's Mansion, can also be done.

It's just that the current situation makes Liu Sheng the only choice for Tianziqi.

And today, the other side shown by Tianzi Qi, although it still failed to fully win Liu Sheng's trust, it also made Liu Sheng's heart inevitably a little moved.

Of course;

Because of today's incident, it is absolutely impossible to put his heart into this son of heaven who is quite deep in the city, and sell his blood and kidneys.

It's just that with today's experience, Liu Sheng vaguely feels that his understanding of Tianziqi seems to be deeper.

After having such a cognition, Liu Sheng's stereotype of Tianziqi gradually shifted slightly······

"When it comes to being a father, in this world, I'm afraid there is no worse father than my father;"

"But if you talk about being an emperor, above the history, a person who can reach the realm of his father and emperor ······"

"-I can't say no;

"It can only be said that if the emperor of heaven can be more in the history of the emperor, then in the future, there should not be that dark period that made the Chinese people feel humiliated and grieved······"

In his heart, he let out such a sigh, raised his head again, and looked at the big man who was driving the car for himself, Liu Sheng's face couldn't help but feel helpless again.

- Liu Sheng felt that Tianzi Qi seemed to be playing tricks on himself and becoming addicted;

Because at this moment, the person who was sitting in front of the carriage and rushing back to Chang'an for Liu Sheng was Liu Sheng's 'old acquaintance': Zhonglang Jiangzhi ······

"I'm old, and I'm still so old······

Shaking his head with a wry smile, and secretly entangled for a long time, Liu Sheng finally moved his body and came to the front of the carriage.

Through the small window between the carriage and the front room, looking at the back of Zhidu driving by himself, Liu Sheng cleared his throat a little, and then tentatively shouted: "Zhi Zhonglang? ”

Unexpectedly, a soft cry provoked Zhi Du to sit up straight, and pulled the reins very carefully, so that the carriage came to a gentle stop;

When the carriage stopped, he waved to the guard next to the carriage, signaling the guard to grab the reins at the corner of the horse's mouth, Zhi Du turned around and looked at Liu Sheng in the carriage through the small window with an expressionless face.

"What do you command?"

asked in a deep voice, but Liu Sheng was stunned on the spot;

Looking at the carriage outside the carriage, the carriage that had been parked on the side of the straight road, and the doubtful eyes that were thrown at him one after another, Liu Sheng's face suddenly swelled with a look of embarrassment······

After calming down for a long time, Liu Sheng finally squeezed out such a sentence in his mouth.

"In the carriage, there was a bit of panic;

"It's hard to get out of Chang'an once, I want to sit in the front room to breathe, and then look at the scenery along the way."

The words were full of weakness, but they did not arouse Zhidu's suspicions, and he only lowered his head and thought for a moment, then shook his head firmly.

"Childe;"

"This is outside Chang'an City."

"It's unlikely, but it's not entirely impossible."

"To be on the safe side, Childe should try to stay in the car as much as possible."

"Otherwise, if something goes wrong with the son, I'm afraid it will be difficult to explain it in front of His Majesty······"

The calm tone set off the firmness on Zhidu's face, which provoked Liu Sheng in the carriage, and he couldn't help but be speechless for a while;

Xu was infected by the 'frank meeting' posture of Tianzi Qi today, and Liu Sheng simply stopped going around the bend, only poking his head out of the small window with a chuckle.

"It's rare to have such an opportunity to turn the conflict with me into a jade silk and resolve the past grudges;"

"Zhi Zhonglang, don't you want to take this opportunity to talk to me?"

whispered this tentative word, but it still failed to make Zhidu's stiff face at that moment shake even the slightest;

On the contrary, it was the firmness in his eyes that deepened after Liu Sheng's question.

"Here, there are still dozens of miles away from Chang'an City;"

"The minister is shouldering the safety of his son, and he really doesn't dare to take risks."

"If Childe wants to talk to the minister, he can ask questions in the carriage, and the minister will answer in the front room······"

·

rejected Liu Sheng's proposal to 'chat in the front room', but Zhidu also subconsciously slowed down the speed of the car and scattered part of his attention into the carriage behind him.

While driving the carriage to Chang'an at the speed of the old man's walk, Zhidu did not forget to say anything;

"The last time, the minister reflected on it for a long time;"

"But the minister still doesn't think that there will be any grudges between the minister and the prince because of that incident."

Speaking in a deep voice, Zhi couldn't help but slow down the speed of the car a little more, took a deep breath, and told the thoughts in his heart.

"The reflection of the past period of time has made the minister understand: that incident, the minister did something wrong."

"But what the minister did wrong was not to prevent His Majesty from saving Mrs. Jia;"

"—but as the commander of the forbidden army to protect His Majesty's safety, the minister should not allow that wild beast to appear so close to His Majesty."

"After the minister made such a mistake, His Majesty still did not blame the minister, which made the minister even more guilty."

"But what I want to tell Childe is: I stopped His Majesty from saving Mrs. Jia, not because I had any hostility towards Mrs. Jia or Childe."

Speaking of this, Zhidu's face also quietly swelled with a hint of crampedness;

said the last sentence 'not hostile to Childe', Zhidu was even more afraid that Liu Sheng would misunderstand, so he hurriedly explained: "Childe, don't misunderstand. ”

"As His Majesty's courtier, the minister has absolutely no intention of getting close to the prince."

"To be precise, the only important thing for the minister is the safety of His Majesty······"

Listening to Zhidu's cramped self-questioning and self-answering, Liu Sheng couldn't help but smile;

With a soft 'um' sound, he motioned for Zhi Du to continue.

Hearing that Liu Sheng's soft 'um' came from the carriage, Zhi Du also calmed down again, and in his tone, he gradually brought the firmness and determination that belonged to this goshawk.

"It was the minister's fault that it happened;"

"It was the minister's failure to discover that wild head in advance that put His Majesty in such a dangerous situation."

"But the minister's remedy after that is not for himself."

"——Because the moment that wild boar appeared in His Majesty's field of vision, the minister knew that he would not live long in this life······"

Speaking in a deep voice, Zhi Du couldn't help but take a deep breath, and at an angle that Liu Sheng couldn't see, there was a little sigh on his face inexplicably.

"After the wild head appeared, the first sentence that came to the minister's mind was: I am dead;"

The second sentence that followed was: Protect Your Majesty's ······"

"Therefore, when stopping His Majesty from coming forward to save Mrs. Jia, the minister was determined to die and wanted to protect His Majesty for the last time."

"If it weren't for the fact that His Majesty didn't blame the minister, the minister would have died at home a long time ago······"

Hearing Zhidu's words, Liu Sheng thought for a moment, and then couldn't help but nod his head slowly.

In today's Han family, there is a strange phenomenon that seems to be very outrageous in the eyes of later generations, but has repeatedly appeared in this era, and has been accepted by the people of this era, and even cannot be sought.

——Whether it is the common people, local officials, or the ministers of the DPRK and the central government, or the royal family;

But if anyone feels that what they have done may bring shame to their ancestors, they will inevitably commit suicide without hesitation!

For example, among the people, a certain farmer was fascinated and stole something from his neighbor's house, causing the whole village to be in a state of public opinion;

For example, in a local county, an official made a mistake that led to the dissatisfaction of the local people;

Or, the ministers of the court and the royal family, think that a certain word or action of the Son of Heaven has caused him great humiliation.

In these cases, more than nine out of ten parties will choose to 'keep their own dignity'.

This is because in the eyes of people in this era, death is not the most terrible thing;

- What is more terrible than death is that after death, you have no face to face your ancestors, and you can only cover your face with hair, that is, 'cover your face with hair'.

It was under such a social atmosphere that the first emperor Liu Heng promulgated such an unwritten rule: high-ranking officials of 2,000 stone and above, and nobles of Guannei Marquis and above, no matter what crime they committed, cannot be tried by the local county;

It must be tried and convicted by Tingwei himself, and this high-ranking official and nobleman who 'must die' must be sent out of the world in the most dignified way possible, in order to preserve the face of the government and the aristocratic class to the greatest extent.

The phrase 'as decent as possible' here means that if you are willing to commit suicide, you will never carry out the death penalty;

If you are willing to drink wine, you will never cut off your head;

If you are willing to swallow the nugget, you will never cut it in half.

The most important thing is: as long as the situation allows, the whole body must be left behind, and if there is no blood, no blood must be seen, and the body must be returned to the family to handle the aftermath.

Such an 'unspoken rule' naturally made the aristocratic class overjoyed and gladly accepted it.

- After all, compared to being punished by the Ming Dynasty, suicide is obviously more decent, and it is easier to avoid the situation of having no face to face the ancestors after death.

And in most cases, for those who are willing to commit suicide, the court can always adopt an attitude similar to 'people die and their debts are eliminated', and no longer pursue their families.

In later generations, people often asked: Why do historical figures commit suicide at every turn?

Why did the emperor vaguely order two sentences and hang himself when he went home?

Can't you rely on it not to die?

And the answer to this question may be explained clearly in the current Han Dynasty, the unspoken rule formulated by the former emperor Liu Heng that 'the general will not be dishonored, and Xu Gongqing will keep himself decent for 2,000 stones'.

——'Xu' Gongqing 2,000 stone to keep his dignity is allowed, tolerated, not necessary!

If you are willing to be decent, then you are decent;

If you don't want to be decent, there are people who help you be 'decent'.

Anyway, it's a death horizontal, do it yourself, not to mention that you can retain the last dignity, and you can also save the family;

Why not?

Specifically, Zhidu escorted Liu Qi and Mrs. Jia to Shanglin Yuan to play, but encountered a wild boar, in fact, the same reason.

——After being sure that his sin would surely die, Zhidu's wisest choice was to commit suicide to save his reputation!

It's just that the corresponding to the Son of Heaven's 'abandonment like a shoe' is an almost infinite 'use like a baht'.

For useless people, Tianzi Qi can always give up very decisively;

But for useful people, Tianzi Qi can always be surprisingly 'tolerant'.

Obviously, Zhonglang General Zhidu is a 'useful' person in the eyes of Tianzi Qi.

And to be able to be such a ruthless king as the Son of Heaven, such an infinite tolerance, Zhidu also has its own merits······

"When the minister dissuaded His Majesty, he said that he did not mean to humiliate the mother of the son, but it was so;"

"The minister never thought that one day, he would turn his rivalry with his son into a jade silk."

"The minister only knows: on that day, the minister made a mistake;"

"After the minister stopped His Majesty, it was to avoid the mistakes made by the ministers and cause serious consequences of turmoil in the world."

While thinking about it, Zhidu's deep voice sounded again, which also provoked Liu Sheng to quietly come back to his senses;

But seeing that he only sighed slightly, his eyes were still locked on the horse in front of him, and only between his brows, a trace of depression quietly crossed it.

"As for Gongzi blaming me for humiliating Mrs. Jia, I don't want to refute it, and I don't want to refute it."

"But I am also a person whose mother was pregnant for nine months, and she fought hard to walk through the ghost gate, and was born."

"For the filial piety of the son, the minister can understand and understand."

"—even very admirable!"

"For that incident, the minister doesn't care if the son holds a grudge against me;"

"I just want my son to know that I, Zhidu, is definitely not for my own net worth and life, just go to humiliate other people's mothers, it's okay."

Speaking in a firm tone, Zhidu's slightly depressed face immediately returned to the past, as if he was as indifferent as facial paralysis;

In the end, Zhi Du did not forget to add a sentence: "In the future, the minister does not want to have too much dealings with the son." ”

"Because the minister, not so much the courtier of the Han family, is more of His Majesty's courtier."

"The minister only hopes to fulfill his duties, protect His Majesty's safety, and do everything His Majesty has explained."

"As for the son, for the minister, it's just 'a certain son'······"

Hearing that Zhidu's words seemed to be justified, but not like a justification, Liu Sheng's face also quietly swelled with a touch of playfulness;

After looking at Zhidu's cold back for a long time, Liu Shengcai pretended to be puzzled and said lightly, "Huh? 'Sighed.

"According to Zhi Zhonglang, Zhi Zhonglang is the orphan minister of his father?"

"-In that case, why does Zhi Zhonglang want to be mixed up with the dog thief Chao Cuo?"

Hearing the ridicule in Liu Sheng's tone, Zhi Du turned his head leisurely and looked at Liu Sheng very seriously, still with a little playful gaze.

"First of all, Chao Cuo is not a dog thief;"

"It's the internal history, the head of the Jiuqing Dynasty."

"It's His Majesty's teacher when he was in the palace."

"—secondly;"

"The minister is close to Dr. Chao, which is what His Majesty means."

"In order to help Chao Neishi promote the "Cutting Strategy", His Majesty needs someone above the court to help Chao Neishi."

"Therefore, the ministers will be instructed by His Majesty to help Chao Neishi promote the ······ of "Cutting Domains"

said a word indifferently, Zhi Du's face was even more calm, and he didn't realize that his words had revealed some unknown secrets to Liu Sheng.

Hearing this, Liu Sheng's face was even more playful, and his head poked out of the small window and poked out a little further.

"But how did I hear that Zhi Zhonglang also likes the doctrine of the Legalists?"

"Now in the court, except for Zhi Zhonglang, there are only wrong dog thieves, who are learning the doctrine of Legalism;"

"Zhi Zhonglang is close to the dog thief, is it really not because of some 'other reasons'?"

But when Zhi Du heard this, his brows furrowed slightly as never before, and when he looked at Liu Sheng, there was a trace of impatience;

"The minister repeats: Nei Shi is wrong, not a dog thief;"

"It's about being a scholar of Jiuqing and the Son of Heaven."

As if a patient with obsessive-compulsive disorder, he corrected Liu Sheng's 'language disease' again, and saw Zhi Du turning around indifferently, no longer looking at the head that poked out of the carriage behind him.

"I, a scholar of the Legalist family, have a self-requirement of not forming a party for personal gain;"

"As Gongzi said: I, Zhidu, like the doctrine of Legalism very much."

"But it is precisely because of this that I will not be close to Chao Neishi and any of the courtiers in private."

"Because whether it is the position of 'Zhonglang General' or the identity of a scholar of the Legalist family, I am not allowed to get too close to the courtiers."

"Of course, I'm not allowed to get too close to Childe."

As the last sentence came out of Zhidu's mouth, he saw the front room of the carriage, and Zhidu finally got up again and pulled up the reins, gently patted the horse's buttocks, and raised the speed of the carriage.

Looking at Zhidu's posture of 'I'm done talking, let's stop talking', Liu Sheng looked at Zhidu's gaze, and finally brought some feelings.

"Zhidu ······"

"Hey ······"

"There are a lot of interesting people around the old guy······"

secretly said a word, and Liu Sheng simply stopped being bored;

Retracted into the carriage and asked coldly.

"On that day, Zhi Zhonglang stopped his father from coming forward, I can barely understand;"

"But after Zhi Zhonglang stopped his father, why didn't he come forward in person, or send a soldier to save people?"

"—The duty of the minister is to protect the safety of His Majesty, not the safety of Mrs. Jia."

"Then if my father is not here, Zhi Zhonglang, will he come forward to save my mother?"

"—Yes."

"—but not for Childe;"

"—but because Mrs. Jia is His Majesty's concubine······"

After a brief conversation, Liu Sheng finally lowered his head satisfied, closed his eyes and looked at the edge of the carriage, and said no more.

With today's dialogue, in Liu Sheng's heart, those Xu Mustards who have been in Zhonglang and Zhidu have also quietly dissipated.

But there is one thing, Zhi Du is right;

- Between Liu Sheng and Zhidu, they shouldn't get too close.

Not only because of their identities;

It was also because of that incident that Liu Sheng still couldn't forgive even if he could understand Zhidu.

From a certain point of view, Zhidu and Liu Sheng are actually very similar: Zhidu only cares about Tianziqi, Liu Sheng, and almost only cares about Mrs. Jia.

It's like Zhidu will never be able to forgive himself after that incident and put Tianziqi in danger;

Liu Sheng will never be able to forgive Zhidu, who sat back and watched his mother in danger at that time······

"In the future, Zhi Zhonglang saw me in the palace, so there was no need to take a detour;"

"I promise I won't do it again, hit Qingzhi Zhonglang's eye socket."

"-I'm not for, it's not Zhi Zhonglang;"

"It's because Zhi Zhonglang is the face of his father······"

Two more finishes

(End of chapter)