This court meeting is ordinary and unusual.

The content of the discussion was basically expected by the ministers, such as the supply of grain and grass for the Jiangbei border army, the pilot implementation of the border law, and the appointment, dismissal, and transfer of officials in some state capitals.

What is unusual is that the state of the Son of Heaven today is unexpected.

Although the court meeting has been held normally, the Son of Heaven is rarely absent, and there is no problem with the operation of the imperial court, but the important ministers who can enter the Duancheng Palace, especially the important ministers close to the imperial front, in the previous month or two, most of them can find that the Son of Heaven's complexion is not very good, which is visible to the naked eye of exhaustion and weakness.

In addition, the crown prince was granted the right to supervise the state and assist the government, and the six masters and subordinate officials of the East Palace were all important ministers in the court, and these actions would inevitably arouse people's reverie.

Until today, when I saw the calm and energetic Son of Heaven, everyone's hearts that had been hanging were finally put back in their stomachs.

In fact, during this time, some people in the government and the opposition were panicking, the north and south sides invaded at the same time, and no one dared to be sure that the Great Qi army would be able to achieve the final victory, if the Son of Heaven could not govern normally at this time, it would obviously be a disaster that was enough to shake the foundation of the dynasty.

Now that he saw that the Son of Heaven was in good health, people's hearts instantly settled down.

Therefore, when Li Duan decided to further expand the area where the meridian boundary law was implemented, from Lishui Prefecture in Jiangzhou in the south of the capital to the entire territory of Jiangzhou, he unexpectedly received the full support of the Manchu civil and military forces.

Of course, he knew why the Son of Heaven was so sick and completely gone.

The court meeting ended smoothly, Li Duan returned to the harem, and the ministers withdrew from the Duancheng Hall one after another.

There were no servants and maids here, and they were all dismissed by Li Daoyan.

"It's better for juniors to be respectful than to obey their fate."

The capital has been cloudy for many days, and today I can finally see the sunshine, although the winter air is still cold, but the warm sun sprinkled on the body always makes people feel happy.

Lu Shen made a gesture of listening.

Lu Shen looked at the ministers in the wide square in front of him, looked up at the bright sunshine, and his expression was quite complicated.

Hearing this increasingly familiar and kind voice, Lu Shen quickly adjusted his emotions, turned around and saluted, "Please be safe." ”

"Lu Hou."

"There is no allusion, it's just a name taken by a poor scholar in the countryside."

Li Daoyan smiled, and then said: "If you are impatient, the old man will tell you a story related to this wine." ”

Lu Shen looked at the wine jar in front of him, and after uncovering it, he felt that the wine was full of aroma, and it was indeed a rare high-quality wine.

Lu Shen just wanted to say that he was a barbarian from the frontier, but suddenly remembered that the third grandson of the old man in front of him was still exiled in the bitter cold land of the southwest frontier because of him, so he changed his words: "How can you not be polite in front of the old man? ”

Lu Shen smiled in response, and then accompanied the old man out of the palace, and after he got into the carriage, he explained to Qin Zilong, who was waiting outside the palace, and then followed behind the carriage of the Xiangfu with more than 20 personal soldiers.

An old voice suddenly sounded behind him.

Li Daoyan was obviously accustomed to this young man's occasional playful nature, and quipped: "It's rare for a young man like Lu Hou to be so polite now. ”

This time, Li Daoyan did not choose to entertain Lu Shen in the Jinlin Hall of the Li family's main hall, but instead went to the Banshui Pavilion in the flower hall in the northeast corner of the mansion.

Li Daoyan smiled and said: "Since this is the case, then please go to the house with the old man to sit down." Some time ago, the juniors in my hometown sent a few jars of fine wine Dihuayun, you can try it, and if you like it, take it back. ”

"The story is good, and the younger generation likes to listen to the story the most."

"Old Xiangye, this wine is called Dihuayun, it sounds quite chic, I don't know what allusions there are?"

"It's a story that's been around for some years, and it's impossible to know the exact time, dynasty, or place. It is said that there is a young man who has never met a talented person, and he has no relatives in the middle of his family, and he can't even get together to get together to go to Beijing to catch the exam, and he is depressed all day long. Later, he learned that there was a wealthy merchant who was willing to give money, but he couldn't put down his son to ask for help. This young man is not the kind of pedantic person who reads to the death, he usually likes to delve into some things, and by chance he thought of a way to make wine, so the first pot of Ogi Huayun appeared. ”

The reason why he chose this name is because the rich merchant has a cloud in his name, and Ogihua is a favorite flower among the locals. Although the young man made Ogihuayun, the taste of this wine was mediocre, and it was not mellow at all, so it naturally could not attract the attention of others. In desperation, the young man knocked on the door of the rich merchant with the best jar of Dihuayun. ”

Speaking of this, Li Daoyan paused suddenly and asked, "Guess what happened next?" ”

Lu Shen said unhurriedly: "I guess the young man didn't see the rich merchant at all, he was kicked out by the door of that family, the wine jar fell to the ground and shattered, and the Dihua cloud that he had made with his heart and soul was mixed into the sludge. ”

Li Daoyan was stunned for a moment, and then laughed and said: "This is also a commonplace thing. But the truth was just the opposite, the door of the house politely invited the young man in, and the rich merchant directly bought this altar of Dihuayun for a hundred taels of silver. The young man relied on this plate to entangle himself into Beijing to catch the exam, and a year later, he was named on the gold list, and finally achieved a first-class official residence. After the young man made his fortune, he helped the rich merchant several times to repay the kindness of the other party, and he also asked the rich merchant why he was willing to spend a hundred taels of silver to buy the jar of wine. ”

Facing the old man's interested gaze, Lu Shen said indifferently: "For a rich businessman, a hundred taels of silver is not worth mentioning, but if this silver is exchanged for the gratitude of a talented young man, it is an extremely cost-effective deal for him." ”

"Yes, but not all."

Li Daoyan smiled: "The rich businessman refused to say it at first, but in the end he really couldn't prevaricate, so he could only answer honestly. It turned out that he had long known the situation of this young man, and had been waiting for the young man to take the initiative to come to the door. He said that if this young man did not even have the courage to give up his face, why didn't he take a hundred taels of silver and drink the flower wine? It is better to throw it to those Qinglou Oiran, so that you can hear a few delicate uncles, than to waste it on a cowardly scholar. ”

Lu Shen's heart moved slightly, and he sighed: "This rich businessman is a very interesting character, although this story does not have those magnificent peaks and turns, but it also has a unique charm. Old Xiangye, that young man must be the ancestor of the Li family? ”

"That's right."

Li Daoyan leaned back in his chair and said calmly: "It was a story hundreds of years ago, the Li family has been passed down orally for generations, and it may have long deviated from the truth of the matter, or it may be far-fetched by later generations, who want to make this Dihuayun sell at a high price, and deliberately made up such a story." ”

Lu Shen comprehended, nodded and said: "Yes, back then, the ancestor of the Li family exchanged an altar of Dihua Cloud for a hundred taels of silver, and now this altar of Dihua Cloud must not be higher than the price brewed by the ancestor himself, but it can't be too low to shame the ancestor." I guess, the price of a jar of Dihuayun on the market is now ninety-nine taels? ”

Li Daoyan couldn't help laughing, raised his hand and nodded at him, and said more and more relaxed: "Don't worry, the old man won't accept your money." I once heard His Majesty laugh and talk, you, a young man, obviously have a rich family, and the Lu family's business is making money every day, but you have the habit of seeing money. ”

"Now that I'm also a prince, I can't keep asking my father for money."

Lu Shen smiled, and then said: "Back then, the ancestors of the Li family exchanged an altar of Dihua Cloud for the hundreds of years of foundation of the Jinlin Li family, and achieved the foundation of the first wang clan in Jiangnan. Now that the old man has taken out this altar of Dihuayun, I don't know what price the younger generation will pay? ”

"The price is heavy, I just want to ask Lu Hou to do a small favor to the old man."

Li Daoyan is still calm, his eyes are blazing.

Lu Shen said calmly: "Please also ask the old minister to tell me bluntly." ”

A tall and thin young man walked into the Banshui Pavilion, came to the front and saluted Li Daoyan first, and then under the encouragement of the old man's gaze, he turned to Lu Shen and saluted: "Boy Li Gongxu, I have seen Lu Houye." ”

Lu Shen raised his eyes and saw that the young man had a bit of childishness on his face, although he looked like he was fifteen or sixteen years old, his actual age was definitely younger.

is worthy of being a young man personally cultivated by the Zuo Prime Minister of the Dynasty, in front of Lu Shen, a martial artist who has killed countless people, he has neither cowardice nor arrogance and conceit, and he is not at all similar to Li Yunyi and Li Sanlang.

At this moment, Lu Shen had vaguely guessed the old man's intentions, but he still felt a little incredulous, so he looked at the other party and said, "Old Xiangye, I am Wu Xun." ”

The implication is that your old man, as the leader of the Jiangnan Gate Valve and the civil leader of the Manchu Dynasty, is it a bit of a joke to stuff the most proud little grandson over?

Li Daoyan said: "He is an old little grandson, nicknamed Childish Yuer." Although he looks very weak, he has been studying and practicing martial arts since he was five years old, and now he is also thick-skinned. Of course, his little skills are definitely not comparable to Lu Hou, and he is not even qualified to be Lu Hou's personal soldier. Old age, Lu Hou doesn't have to worry about the pampering of young fish, he can follow you in the wind and rain, and he guarantees that there will be no complaints. ”

Lu Shen hesitated and said: "Old man, you know that I don't know anything about poetry and writing, and the little boy is at the age of studying hard, so it's really not good for him to follow me." ”

"There are enough people in the Li family who are studying, and there is no shortage of him."

Li Daoyan's eyes were deep at this moment, and he said slowly: "A big family that has been inherited for hundreds of years, it seems to be a scene of decay and decay with flowers and brocade cooking oil, but in fact, it is full of decay and decay. The children of the Li family either studied the flies and dogs all day long, or they were full of intrigues and tricks, and the traces of defeat became more and more obvious. Juvenile Yu'er is still very young, now only fourteen years old, and it is precisely because he has not yet been contaminated with the rotten atmosphere of this mansion that Lao Yu'er sent him to Lu Hou, so that he can see the vast world outside and see the real appearance of the world. ”

"In this way, we may be able to make a difference."

Lu was silent.

Li Daoyan looked at the altar of Di Huayun, and there was a little more pleading in his tone: "Lu Hou, this altar of wine is just a gift of restraint, and the old man will definitely not let you work hard in vain." ”

For the prime minister who is in charge of the court, this sentence is no longer quite in line with his usual style, so it is more and more sincere.

Lu Shen looked at the old man's complicated gaze, and finally nodded.

Li Gongxu immediately knelt down and kowtowed to Lu Shen, and a crisp voice sounded.

"Disciple Li Gongxu, meet Mr!"

(End of chapter)