The young man Lang Jun in front of the small case was relieved when he said goodbye, and the long-bearded old man on the low couch bowed his head slightly and comforted.

It was already twilight, and the lights and candles in the study were lit, and Liu Ren recalled the words that his youngest son Qingliu had just persuaded him, although it was a bit excessive, but it showed that this son, who had always admired the romance of scribes, finally began to pay attention to the political officials, and maybe he could also contribute to the prosperity of the family in the future and share part of the heavy responsibility for himself, which is indeed a good thing.

Taiyuan Liu's current patriarch has four sons, two sons and two concubines, although the eldest son Liu Qingju and the two concubines are not outstanding, but they are all down-to-earth and calm, and they have entered the office, although they can't say that they have a great future, in the end they are still steadily improving, if there is no accident, the eldest son is about forty years old, and he can probably serve as a state adjutant, and there is no problem with the two concubines and one or two county commanders, even if it is difficult to reach the ministers, but it is enough to obtain a certain reputation and connections.

The only youngest son, to pick papers, is better than the three brothers, but never seek to advance, when he was a teenager under the guise of a study tour, and a group of scholars to play in the mountains and rivers, but also made friends with the heroes of the rivers and lakes, after returning to Jinyang, he was determined to write a book and say, depending on the economic career as a fly camp dog, no one in the eyes of a faction.

But in Liu Ren's view, Qingliu's little insight and ink, don't say that he wrote a book, even in the peaceful and prosperous world, I am afraid that it is very difficult to get a jinshi, although he does not like Qingliu to be arrogant, but he also does not want to overdo it, the younger son, as long as he does not do evil, it is not impossible to be a rich idler.

To say that Liu Ren, in fact, is not a far-sighted person, he has always known that his talent is mediocre, and he does not have much hope for his career, but he did not expect that his career was smooth sailing, when he was less than fifty, he actually held the position of Taiyuan Yin, but later saw the defeat of the Pei Zheng clan, he was afraid, and the officialdom became more and more corrupt, and he did not want to act those things that were squeezing and climbing.

It can't be said that Liu Ren is cowering, just because he saw through the fading prosperity of the Great Zhou and felt the danger of the coming troubled times.

For the eldest son Qingjue, Liu Ren has never hoped that his son will become a dragon, he can't even determine what the world will be like in ten years, to say something rebellious, I don't know if the country has changed his surname, the eldest son is talented, I'm afraid it's not as good as him, it's inevitable to hone and hone in the officialdom, Liu Ren didn't hope that Qingju would worship the center in the future at all.

He only hopes that Hehe Taiyuan Liu will not be ruined in the hands of their father and son, and in the future, he will meet the ancestors under the Jiuquan, and he will not be shameless.

In fact, the patriarchs of the big clans are not all high-ranking officials and ministers, a person's energy is limited, and he often focuses on his career, so he will neglect the clan affairs, which is also a lot of famous ministers and generals, most of the heirs are ordinary, because they simply can't spare time to educate future generations.

For the patriarch, if there is no great talent, in fact, there is no shortage of people who seek stability, only to lay prestige and contacts, hone their knowledge, and more importantly, to preside over the affairs of the clan, so that the ancestral hall sacrifices continue, and cultivate the children of the clan as the pillars of talent, so that no one will fall into decline in the family successors.

Liu Ren is obviously such a patriarch, and in his opinion, Qingju can only seek stability, but his nephew Qingcheng is relatively more qualified to work the way of the central minister, if there is no chaos in the country after ten years, it is still the rule of the world, and there is a seat in Qingcheng in the court, Taiyuan Liu will not decline.

But at present, the Pan-Liao coalition army is forced to pass the pass, Jin Shuo is in danger, and the imperial court wants to implement a new policy at this juncture, relying on Xue Xuanzhi, a young official who stands up, and His Royal Highness the King of Jin, who is useless, Mao Wei obviously does not support it, the situation in Taiyuan Mansion can be described as tense, where will Taiyuan Liu go, Liu Ren is really a little undecided.

Therefore, although he was comforted by his youngest son's progress, he still had no way to calm down and practice calligraphy, so he simply left the study and walked all the way to the backyard.

The sky had just darkened, of course Mrs. Zhen did not rest at this time, she had just had a family conversation with her two daughters-in-law and grandchildren, because the Jin King and his wife were going to visit tomorrow, Mrs. Zhen did not leave more daughters-in-law, and let them arrange tomorrow's chores.

The four sons are all married, but three of them are officials outside, Mrs. Zhen's mother-in-law is not a harsh person, and she did not force the two daughters-in-law to be filial at home, so they had to go with their husbands, as for the eldest daughter-in-law Jiang, it was also because she was familiar with internal affairs that Mrs. Zhen stayed by her side.

At this moment, Mrs. Zhen was chatting with her confidant and concubine, and she was quite surprised to hear that Liu Ren was coming.

The two old husbands and wives have long passed the time when they were like glue, and Mrs. Zhen has been plagued by seven disasters and eight diseases over the years, so she has no way to serve Liu Ren, so Liu Ren generally lives in the study in the front yard and rarely sets foot in the back house.

"Don't be busy with Zhang Luo, I came here after eating and drinking, I don't need anything, I want to talk quietly with my wife." As soon as Liu Ren came in, he first stopped the servants and maids from pouring tea and water, and in a word, he sent away all the idle people, so that the old wife widened his coat for him, and the husband and wife sat down to talk.

"Shilang came to see me at first, and some persuasion made me particularly surprised, this child, after all, has grown up, and suddenly cares about the political situation, so it is good, and it will also help Dalang in the future."

"This is rare, Qingliu has always been in awe of her husband, and she actually took the initiative to ask for a meeting, and there is still advice?" Mrs. Zhen feigned surprise.

Because Qingliu is arrogant and arrogant, Liu Ren usually doesn't have many good colors when he sees him, and Qingliu has always disliked to go to Liu Ren, so as not to be bored, this time he is so proactive, Mrs. Zhen has actually predicted that it must be instigated by the Chen family again.

Sure enough, I listened to Liu Ren's advice to maintain neutrality.

Mrs. Zhen was still calm: "Knowing the son Mo Ruomu, this is not like Qingliu's tone, it should be that the three women are too worried, so they reminded Qingliu and asked him to dissuade the husband from keeping a distance from the Jin Palace." ”

"The third lady has never interfered in foreign affairs, is the lady too careful?" Liu Ren frowned slightly.

"Last time, when the concubine returned to the Jin Palace, the three women hurriedly came to admonish, if it weren't for this, where would the concubine be unreasonably suspicious." Mrs. Zhen is not like the Chen family, she abides by the dogma of not talking about government affairs, she is also from a prestigious family, and she also studied a period of history and strategy when she was in the boudoir, and she did not interfere in foreign affairs before, firstly because of physical reasons, and secondly, because Liu Ren is calm and down-to-earth, and she does not need to be reminded by her mouth, but she still has basic knowledge, and she disdains to learn the hypocrisy and virtue of Chen's back house.

Therefore, he said directly: "The brother of the Sandi woman's mother's family is not a secret in his attempt to work in Beijing, and the children of the Chen family have been very close to Mao Fu Yin recently, and the Chen family has a clear banner, since Mao Fu Yin has lobbied Zhen and Meng families one after another, how can he let us go?" ”

Liu Ren's eyebrows were even tighter, although he did not decide to support the new policy, but he was even more reluctant to Taiyuan Liu to be marked with the seal of Mao Wei's party, and the implementation of the new policy was the queen mother's idea, although Mao Wei was also a confidant of the queen mother, who knows if he would be convicted and defeated because of this matter?

Mrs. Zhen did not target the Chen family again: "Although the implementation of the new policy will inevitably damage the interests of the family, compared with the wealth outside the body, in the end it is more important to have the foundation and prestige, but whether the new policy can be implemented smoothly, how the details are are not known at the moment, we don't have to rush for a while, it is indeed appropriate to maintain neutrality, His Royal Highness and the princess will visit tomorrow, nominally to visit the relatives, and probably will not mention government affairs." ”

Liu Ren's head, Taiyuan Liu is not comparable to Jinyang Chen, must climb the dignitaries to gain power, before the situation is not clear, it is very unwise to choose a camp, since there are conditions for wait-and-see, ambiguous some of course: "I came today, but also to remind Madame that the princess claimed to be here to visit the patient, so she did not need to be too public, only entertained by her own daughters." ”

King Jin has a noble status, and Liu Ren can't be too lazy, but after all, the princess is the daughter of the Liu family, and under the guise of visiting the sick, Mrs. Zhen and her two daughters-in-law are entertained, and there is no need to invite the housewives to accompany the banquet.

"The princess has already asked Shilang's daughter-in-law to tell her, so you don't have to bother with publicity." Mrs. Zhen quietly praised the eleventh mother's knowledge and simple purpose, and then said: "However, because the nineteen women asked for a family affair in Beijing for the thirteen mothers, the princess also agreed, and the concubine only invited the nineteen women and daughters tomorrow, after all, the princess also has to understand the temperament of the thirteen mothers, so that it is convenient to inform the relatives in Beijing." ”

There are only widows and orphans in the nineteenth room, of course, it can't be related to the government affairs, Liu Ren didn't care, but just asked: "What happened to the nineteen families?" How did I hear that the eighteenth brother still has objections? ”

Mrs. Zhen resolutely pretended to be confused: "Does the eighteenth brother have objections? The concubine hadn't heard of it, so if he had any objections, why didn't he find a theory? ”

"This matter has dragged on for a while, the sooner it was settled, the thirteen mothers will discuss the relatives more smoothly, since you have that spirit during this time, you might as well pay more attention."

Mrs. Zhen smiled and promised: No matter how the Chen family tosses, as long as the husband does not object to his own family affairs, this matter will definitely not let the Chen family get his wish!

Tomorrow, there's a lot to see!